Millions of motorists are likely to incur parking fines without realising it after being caught on CCTV.

From March 31, councils across England and Wales will have the power to use remote cameras to enforce parking laws, then send tickets by post.

The move comes alongside other changes that will allow parking attendants to issue tickets as soon as they say they have seen a car illegally parked, without having to put them on the motorist's windscreen.

Motoring groups said last night that both changes will lead to a surge in the number of questionable tickets being issued, with drivers facing fines even when no offence has been committed.

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The arrival of a ticket by post, sometimes weeks later, will also make it harder to collect evidence to mount a successful appeal.

Sheila Rainger, acting director of the RAC Foundation, said: "We are worried that these changes will make it even easier for councils to use parking as a cash cow."

Under the new plans, town hall staff in control rooms will monitor CCTV cameras trained on high streets to issue tickets the second a car parks on a yellow line or overstays at a parking meter.

Motoring groups fear this could happen even when drivers have stopped legally. Under some circumstances, motorists can wait on single yellow lines to let passengers out or unload goods.

But this has not stopped CCTV operators in London, where councils have been allowed to use cameras for some time, issuing tickets anyway.

Barrie Segal, whose organisation AppealNow challenges thousands of fines a year, claimed abuse of the system was rife in the capital.

"I have had calls from scores of taxi drivers who have been given tickets as a result of being caught by a CCTV camera while letting passengers out," he said.

"They had stopped quite legally and the camera operator must have known this.

Full article here.