Drivers in Sutton have got away without paying more than £700,000 in parking fines over the past three years.

Sutton Council said it does pursue drivers who fail to pay fines for illegal parking and the figure is a small fraction of the money it receives overall, but there is a minority of offenders who do not pay and it is "necessary to write off fines".

Sutton's drivers have failed to pay £719,754 in parking fines since 2009. The amount of fines being ignored was highest in 2009/10 when drivers got away without paying £219,076. The annual figures have decreased since then with £119,785 going uncollected last year.

A council spokeswoman said: "The £500K figure refers to over four years worth of fines and represents about 10% of parking ticket income over the same period. The amount outstanding for collection has been falling steadily each year. The aim of any parking controls is to ensure safe and smooth flow of traffic and to manage the limited amount of space there is to park on our streets.

"Most people are law abiding but clearly there needs to be enforcement to ensure compliance by the minority of offenders. Again most people follow the rules and pay their fines on time. We do pursue all unpaid fines and the overall percentage unpaid has been steadily falling. In some cases it is necessary to write off fines for example if the registered keeper details are not accurate."