CCTV 'spy' cars raked in an astonishing £573,000 in fines for Richmond Council last year, it has emerged.

Richmond's two smart cars, with cameras fitted to their roofs, issued 12,305 fines for parking and traffic offences across the borough in the year up to April 1.

Civic Centre chiefs shell out a total of nearly £12,000 a month for the two vehicles, but between them they have helped top up council coffers by more than four times that amount.

The remarkable figures were revealed by the campaign group Big Brother Watch (BBW), which submitted freedom of information requests to local authorities across the country.

Nationally, 31 councils used the technology last year, though in some cases only on a trial basis, earning a total of £8 million in fines.

Dylan Sharpe, the group's campaign director, said: "The CCTV smart car represents a very dangerous escalation in Britain's surveillance society. The vehicles are sent out to catch people and make money, with road safety only an afterthought. £8m is an eye-watering amount to take in fines in just 25 councils.

"It is surely only a matter of time before more councils start using these cars. The coalition government must act now and prevent that from happening."

According to figures from BBW, Richmond earned more from the cars than all but four other local authorities nationwide.

The biggest earner was Lambeth Council, where three cars were used, raising a total of nearly £1.7m.

Colin Gillman, of Wills Crescent, Whitton, claims to be one of the smart cars' many 'victims'. The 49-year-old says he was snapped several times by one of the vehicles while dropping off his children at Heathfield Junior School earlier this year.

He was caught stopping for a matter of seconds in the yellow hatched box outside the school, which he claimed to have no idea was illegal. The first he knew of his offence was when he received six fines through the post within days of each other.

"I had no idea what I was doing was wrong and if I'd been given a ticket straight away obviously I wouldn't have done it again," he said. "I appealed against five of the tickets but was told I would have to pay the full £300, which means I probably won't be able to take the children on holiday this year.

"If this was about child safety they should have wardens there warning people about the danger, not cars spying on you. I feel these cars are a form of entrapment, designed to raise money for the council, and should be scrapped immediately."