Almost 60,000 drivers fined at Boots Corner bus gate

The fines were issued to motorists driving through a section of Clarence Street

Almost 60,000 motorists were fined for driving through a "bus gate" in Cheltenham in the first 10 months of a traffic ban experiment.

The penalty charge notices were issued to motorists driving through a section of Clarence Street, known locally as Boots Corner, up to May this year.

Only exempt vehicles, such as buses and taxis, are allowed to pass through.

Data from Gloucestershire County Council showed 58,965 fines were issued since the scheme began in August 2018.

The council has earned £1.69m from the fines.

The cost so far of the Cheltenham Transport Plan, which includes the pilot closure of Boots Corner, is £1.45m, the council said.

The figures also showed 6,800 of the fines were sent to repeat offenders, however the council said the majority of these were cancelled because they were accidentally issued to exempt vehicles.

There were 1,350 formal representations which resulted in a fine being cancelled, the data found.

Eighty-six fines were overturned by the Traffic Penalties Tribunal.