Motorists are being urged to fight unfair parking tickets after new figures showed that Scottish authorities abandon the majority of long-running penalty disputes involving private 'enforcers'.
More than half the cases referred to the Scottish Parking and Traffic Appeals Service are ditched by councils before they are heard.
In Dundee, an astonishing 90% of contested parking tickets issued by private wardens are ditched at the appeal stage.
And even in cases where councils decide to fight on, Scottish drivers have a one-in-three chance of triumphing over private wardens, who operate in many of Scotland's biggest communities and have frequently been accused of issuing tickets unfairly to maximise profits.
Parking tickets cost £60 although many councils cut the fine in half if the driver agrees to pay up immediately. Each year, Edinburgh takes in £7.6m from parking fines, while Glasgow fines drivers £5.5m.
Barrie Segal, the founder of ticket challenge site AppealNow.com, said: "If ever there was a lesson which the Scots gave us, it's try and try again and never give up. Too many motorists think it is not worth their while appealing against parking tickets, but the fact is that they should."