MORE than 12,000 parking tickets and bus-lane fines were successfully appealed across south Hampshire in 2016-17, new figures have revealed.

A third of overturned penalty charge notices (PCNs) were in Southampton alone.

Drivers given fines outside the city over the last five years also had a 50 per cent chance of making a successful appeal.

Eastleigh Borough Council was by far the most lenient – with 68 per cent of fines being overturned on appeal since 2012.

The figures, obtained by the BBC under the Freedom of Information Act, have been described as “frightening” by motoring group the RAC.

However, the Local Government Association said the figures proved councils had an “effective” appeal process.

Although not included in the figures, Southampton City Council told the Echo it handed out 52,481 PCNs for parking breaches in 2016/17.

Of those, more than 3,000 were successfully appealed.

The authority also handed out 27,768 fines for bus lane breaches – of which 1,630 were overturned.

Most of those appeals involved taxis, buses or emergency vehicles which were not white listed.

Itchen MP Royston Smith said the number of fines handed out for bus lane infringements was “worrying”.

But he said he was “supportive” of the appeal process and said the figures showed it was working.

According to the data, almost 18,000 appeals were made against Eastleigh Borough Council between 2012 and 2018 – the highest in the area.

Of those, 12,311 were successful – around 68 per cent.

Gosport Borough Council was the area’s toughest authority, overturning just 22 per cent of its penalty notices on appeal over the last six years.

New Forest District Council overturned 38 per cent, while Test Valley Borough Council and Winchester City Council dropped around 60 per cent of its notices on appeal.

Commenting on the figures, Martin Tett, transport spokesman for the Local Government Association, said: “As these figures confirm, people who want to challenge a parking fine have access to a clear and effective appeals process.”

However, RAC spokesman Simon Williams said councils should put right the issues that lead to people being given “erroneous” penalties in the first place.

It comes as Southampton City Council set up a new bus lane camera in Vincent’s Walk.

Last year, the council’s three existing cameras, in Shirley Road, New Road and Northam Road brought in £385,634 in revenue.

Civic chiefs say the cameras keep traffic flowing and the money is put into the city’s roads.