Parents could be fined £130 for driving children to school

Children are heading back to school this week, and Croydon Council is taking that opportunity to experiment with ways to tackle school run congestion. The latest scheme uses automatic number plate recognition to set up 'exclusion zones' around three southeast London primary schools, where parents will face a £130 fine if they enter to drop their children off.

The exclusion zones will cover drop-off and pick-up times – from 8am until 9:30am, and then again from 2pm to 4pm. Residents and their visitors will be able to apply for permits – but anybody else driving through will receive a £65 fine, rising to £130 after 14 days. Blue Badge holders are exempt from the scheme.