TRAFFIC wardens slapped an average of 120 parking tickets on cars every day last year according to new figures.

A total of 44,197 penalty charge notices were dished out across Reading borough with more than half being issued on the side streets surrounding the busy town centre.

The Oxford Road — one of the longest roads in Reading — was the worst offender, attracting 3,390 tickets along its three-mile stretch.

But Cheapside in the town centre, only 420ft (130m) long, came in second with 1,647 tickets.

This made the side street, which stretches from the back of the Jobcentre and Primark to the Tesco Express, the most densely ticketed area of town, with more cars fined for parking infringements than the main thoroughfares of Kings Road and London Road.

Based on a minimum charge of £25, Cheapside raked in at least £41,850 last year alone.

Omkar Sharma, of Caversham, drives into the town every couple of days and has fallen victim to traffic wardens on more than one occasion in Cheapside.

He said: “I got a ticket just dropping off the children. It is really difficult parking here. Even if it is just for five or 10 minutes, it is wrong, completely wrong. They should give access for a few minutes just to let you drop off.”

As well as highlighting the main offenders, the council’s Parking Services Annual Report shows a three per cent decrease in the overall number of tickets for illegal parking in the last financial year.

Councillor Tony Page, transport leader for Reading Borough Council, said: “The fact is that we are seeing fewer people receiving parking tickets and that is reported in this report. There are also fewer getting bus lane infringements so there is a clearly an increase in the respect for the regulations which is welcome.”

Although the borough saw 1,574 fewer penalties the cost of enforcement still remained higher than the income from tickets and the council lost £322,800 in keeping on top of illegal street parking.

Cllr Page said: “The cost is the cost of civil enforcement officers. We employ parking wardens to monitor these areas. We do not have parking wardens working on a commission basis so in some years there will be a small surplus and in others there will be a small cost.”

However, the residential permits, car parks and bus lane penalties all operated at a surplus, more than making up for the losses made on parking enforcement.

Some who drive into the town welcomed the action of traffic wardens. Blue badge holders Stuart and Christine Walton from Shiplake often struggle to find a free disabled space.

Stuart said: “When we come down here we cannot always find a space because there are people just sat in their cars who aren’t disabled, but as soon as the traffic wardens come down they up and disappear.”

Parking figures top 10:

Oxford Road 3,390

Cheapside 1,647

Kings Road 1,359

London Road 1,261

Sackville Street 762

Howard Street 741

Vachel Road 731

South Street 689

Valpy Street 648

Waylen Street 638