A car that is used to punish drivers for breaking parking rules in Reading has caught drivers out more than 3,000 times in the last year.

The car catches drivers out by using number plate recognition CCTV to detect parking rule breaches.

Once a breach is identified, the owner of the offending vehicle will be fined.

The parking enforcement car is manned by a driver who patrols Reading.

READ MORE: The top 10 places in Reading where drivers have been fined for parking illegally

Reading Borough Council has one parking enforcement car, which are officially known as ‘approved devices’.

The car caught out drivers a total of 3,467 times in 2020-21.

It can only be used to target specific offences, which are parking on the red route, parking on ‘School: Keep Clear’ markings and parking in bus stops.

The majority of parking fines issued using the enforcement vehicle were in cases where a driver had parked along the red route.

A red route was first introduced in Reading in 2018, with the rule that no one is allowed to park their cars along the route, with anyone breaching this liable for a £70 fine, reduced to £35 if paid within 14 days of the penalty issue date.

The route has progressively been expanded, with double red lines being laid in the town centre in March 2020.

The majority of fines issued using the enforcement car were for parking breaches in Oxford Road, where 1,823 penalties were delivered to drivers.