The UK's biggest-ever parking fines

We've all been there: rushing back to the car a little later than expected, only to find that ominous yellow envelope stuck to the windscreen.

The number of parking tickets being issued is on the rise, with nearly a million Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) last year.

See also: £18,500 in parking tickets for parking in front of her own garage

See also: Shocked mum charged almost £800 for 20 minutes' parking

Between them, according to car leasing firm UK Carline, they could be costing British motorists an eye-watering £275 million a year.

Getting a ticket is always deeply annoying. But if you're feeling sorry for yourself, take heart. Some people have racked up truly extraordinary parking fines: we look at some of the worst.

Carly Mackie
In 2015, 26-year-old Carly Mackie,from Dundee, was slapped with an incredible £18,500 in parking tickets - for parking in front of her own garage. While the garages had double yellow lines in front of them, Carly was parking on a cobbled area between the garage and the road.

She ignored tickets from private firm Vehicle Control Services, believing they were unenforceable - but a court ruled that she had to pay. Along with court costs, she had to pay £24,000.

Denise Legeay Humberstone
Denise Legeay Humberstone's total fine was rather lower than Carly's - but on a per-minute basis, it's hard to beat. Earlier this year, she parked for 20 minutes at a shopping centre car park - only to have £781.70 taken from her bank account.

It seems that a technical problem with the system had meant that her account was suspended; Surrey Heath Borough Council says she'll get a refund.

Unknown driver
There aren't many of us that can afford a Merc - still fewer who can afford to chuck one away. But three years ago we reported on a black Mercedes S-Class that had been languishing in a Plaza car park in Birmingham for an astonishing three years, accumulating charges at £13 per day.

Police couldn't track down the owner - who by then owed an extraordinary £14,000 in fines.

David Lee
Mondeo driver David Lee racked up tickets totalling £14,000 a few years ago. He ignored 140 tickets during one year alone after leaving his car in disabled bays with abusive messages on the windscreen.

Like Carly Mackie, he thought the tickets were unenforceable - like her, he found they were nothing of the sort.

David Osborne
This is another case of a fine that's staggering when you look at it on a per-minute basis. David Osborne pulled over on a Bristol street simply to check the sign listing parking restrictions. As soon as he realised that the road was a clearway, he hopped back in and drove off.

However, despite the fact that he'd stopped for 90 seconds at most, he was issued with a £70 fine. The council later reconsidered and cancelled it.