Fury as drivers hit by £900k 'bus gate' fines

MOTORIST BLASTS COUNCIL BOSSES

- CHRIS SLATER

A RAGING motorist has hit out at council bosses after it emerged they raked in almost a million pounds in fines in just eight months from a bus lane on one town centre street.

General traffic was banned from the stretch of Heaton Lane which runs between the A6 Wellington Road North and Travis Brow in Stockport last February with only buses, cyclists and licensed taxis now allowed through.

Cameras are in place with £60 fines, reduced to £30 if paid within a fortnight, being issued to anyone caught passing through the 'bus gate! Philip Brooks, 49, says he was one of those caught out when his sat-nav sent him down the road from the A6.

He was so incensed he submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request and asked how much money had been generated following the 'bus gate's introduction.

And he says he was stunned to learn that £896,141.50 had been paid in fines from April to December last year. He has now accused the town hall of running a 'cynical and calculated money-raising scam' which 'targets innocent motorists.'