A staggering £218 million is owed in unpaid ULEZ fines in London, according to official figures.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request revealed that more than 1.3 million penalty charges (PCNs) were issued from September 2023 to April 2024.

But Transport for London (TfL) admitted that over 70 per cent of the fines issued - totalling hundreds of millions of pounds - remain unpaid.

The transport authority also revealed that one driver had received over 200 fines for a single non-compliant vehicle - but hasn't yet paid a penny of the £47,682 they owe.

The FOI data showed that £28.5m has been paid in fines.

ULEZ - short for 'ultra low emissions zone' - was expanded to the farthest-reaching areas of London in August last year, meaning motorists across all 32 boroughs would be charged at least £12.50 a day if they drove a vehicle in the zone that doesn't meet emissions standards.

Responding to an FOI request, TfL revealed that since September 26 last year until April 26 this year, a total of 1,348,938 ULEZ PCNs were issued.

These PCNs are initially issued at £180 but are reduced to £90 if paid within a fortnight.

TfL confirmed that drivers paid 282,448 PCNs totalling £28,539,158.

However, TfL also admitted that an astounding 948,590 PCNs - 70.4 per cent of all fines totalling a whopping £218,316,553 - are yet to have been paid by motorists.

This leaves around 120,000 fines, which TfL confirmed had been cancelled.

TfL declined to provide figures for how much money had been spent on repairs due to intentional damage and vandalism of their cameras.

Brazen 'blade runners' have targeted ULEZ cameras since the expansion of the scheme last year, often using power tools to dismantle cameras in the outer London boroughs.

The ULEZ scheme was first launched in April 2019.

The zone was then expanded in October 2021 - before being expanded again in August 2023.

Barrie Segal, a self-professed parking fine guru who has penned multiple books on fighting fines, says he was "astonished" to learn of the number of unpaid ULEZ fines.

"It's remarkable information," the founder of websites ParkingTicketExpert.com and AppealNow.com said.

"It's astonishing looking at the figures involved - it's more than I expected.

"What I found interesting was the amount of unpaid fines, which was astonishing.

"I'm certainly surprised and would be interested to know how many of the PCNs have been appealed, how many have not and how many have gone to the adjudicator."

Mr Segal - whose books have been featured on Richard & Judy - added that though many motorists fear fighting and losing their appeals, it's worth appealing.

"People don't want to take it on, but there are some technical issues you can fight on," he said.

"If you fight on a technical issue, TfL sometimes make a decision to say, 'Just in case the motorist is right, we'll cancel the ticket'.

"If you think a fine's unfair because it wasn't clear or warning signs were insufficient, then it's worth appealing."

A TfL spokesperson said: "Data shows that more than 95 per cent of vehicles seen in the ULEZ on an average day are ULEZ compliant.

"The ULEZ is not about making money.

"It will lead to cleaner air while generating ever smaller net revenues, as has been the case with the previous expansion to inner London where people switched to greener vehicles.

"If a customer receives a penalty charge notice (PCN) they can pay the penalty at a 50 per cent discount within 14 days, or have up to 28 days to pay the penalty in full, or challenge the PCN by making a representation.

"Representations can be made on one of six grounds, and TfL also considers mitigating circumstances and uses its discretion in reaching a decision, including cancelling the fine.

"Around 10 per cent of ULEZ PCNs issued after its London-wide expansion have been cancelled."