PARKING wardens earned more than £1 million for Bolton Council by issuing nearly 45,000 tickets in a year, new figures reveal.

Statistics for April, 2006, to May, 2007, show traffic attendants slapped £60 parking tickets on the windscreens of 44,668 cars in the borough.

The fines, which are reduced to £30 if paid within two weeks, have earned the council just over £1,050,000 to date, with some still outstanding.

Details of the figures are revealed as The Bolton News launches a five-day series of articles under the heading Warden Watch, in which we are calling for traffic attendants to be given more discretion when issuing tickets.

Drivers have criticised the parking attendants, labelling them over-zealous. But the council and its contractor, NCP, which employs 25 wardens in Bolton, have defended the tally.

Les Wardle, a trustee of the Bolton Institute of Advanced Motorists, said: "As an advanced driver, I recognise that if someone is parked illegally, it can be a danger to other motorists and pedestrians "The wardens do seem to be ticket happy. They are quite happy to slap a fine on your car when perhaps they could exercise a bit of discretion and educate people more."

The most common offence to attract a ticket was parking in a no-waiting zone for two minutes or more, which led to 10,446 tickets.

There were 7,426 tickets issued for not having a valid pay-and-display ticket, and 4,432 imposed on motorists still parked after their tickets had expired.

Mary Horgan, aged 70, received a ticket while shopping in Bolton town centre on Thursday because she did not realise the front of her car was slightly over the line in Queen Street.

Mrs Horgan, of Bramcote Avenue, The Haulgh, said: "I did not notice the line across the front and was only about two inches over.

"It was unbelievable and I will be appealing. These attendants are like vultures and I think its diabolical that so many tickets were issued last year."

A Bolton Council spokesman said: "The council has a duty to enforce parking legislation to safeguard health and safety on footpaths and highways, to reduce congestion and to ensure that car parks operate effectively. There is no target as tickets can only be issued where there is a contravention of parking legislation."

NCP spokesman Tim Cowan said: "We do not expect attendants to walk past illegally parked cars. The rules are very clear and our attendants have to be consistent."