TENDRING Council has made a profit on car parking for the first time in five years.

Data collated by the RAC Foundation showed the authority made a surplus of £122,000 in 2016-17, following a loss of £26,000 in the previous financial year.

Tendring Council had also made a loss on parking in the previous three financial years, showing deficits of £109,000, £82,000 and £70,000 respectively.

Their profit this time around ranks them 281st in the list out of more than 350 councils.

Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, and Camden councils took the three highest positions.

The figures are based on the money coming in from people paying to use council-run car parks throughout the district, minus the cash spent on improvements and investments.

RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding said: “The upward path in profits is in part a reflection of the record number of cars and volume of traffic.

“The silver lining for drivers is that these surpluses must almost exclusively be ploughed back into transport and as any motorist will tell you there is no shortage of work to be done.”