These are the cities where you're most likely to get a parking ticket

Are traffic wardens in some locations more likely to issue parking fines than in others?

Using Freedom of Information requests, researchers from car specialist ATM have looked into the question and collated their findings - from where the most over zealous ticket wardens live, to the success rate of appealing your parking ticket.

As it becomes increasingly difficult to park in certain cities, it is common for people to just "pop in" to a shop or office, deliberately ignoring the pay and display meter.

Parking tickets are issued by wardens employed by the local police, or by parking attendants who work for the local council. Generally, if you have a ticket, you'll have 28 days to pay or appeal the ticket, with a reduced fee if you pay within 14 days.

The worst offenders

Perhaps unsurprisingly, London tops the list, with nearly 3.7 million parking tickets issued in just one year. One area of Camden issued almost double the amount of parking tickets than most cities did alone.

Manchester came second, with nearly 600,000 tickets, followed by the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, which issued 200,000 parking tickets in one year.

Glasgow came fourth, and Birmingham was fifth worst - both with just under 150,000 tickets issued.

Can I appeal a parking ticket?

We've all argued with parking attendants, but remember they're just doing their job. If you really believe you were in the wrong, then appeal your case. Don't believe it works? Well, ATM divulged and researched the cities with the highest appeal success rate, too.

This prize goes to Newcastle, with 66 per cent of its issued parking tickets successfully being appealed. London had a 49 per cent rate of success - pretty good odds if you end up slapped with a fine.

However, Norwich is the worst place to be ticketed with only a nine per cent appeal success rate.

Drivers in Edinburgh are least likely to appeal a ticket, with only 0.11 per cent of the 200,000 tickets being appealed. Leeds drivers are more savvy, with 30 per cent appealing their ticket.

How do I appeal a ticket?

On any parking ticket you are given, there is often information on how to appeal. The most common ticket is a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). If you receive this, then you can write directly to your council. Provide evidence of why you believe you were wrongly ticketed, and it will be revoked. You generally have two weeks from date of issue to appeal the ticket.

If road markings are worn or not visible where you parked, or there is damaged signage, then take photos of these as proof. Get a witness to supply a statement and, if your car broke down but you got a fine, get a repair statement from a mechanic as proof that the car had broken down and was not "parked".

AMT added on its website, "If you don’t feel that an informal letter will cut it, you might consider making a formal appeal. This is when you’ll be sent a letter and a form called ‘notice to owner’, and you’ll have 28 days thereafter to make a formal appeal.

"Even if your appeal is rejected, you’ll still typically get a 50 per cent discount if you pay soon after a verdict is reached. If you don’t appeal and don’t pay within 28 days, the penalty will increase to the full 100 per cent."