COUNCIL chiefs are celebrating the success of a new payment system at Bournemouth's car parks - even though it has lost them £26,000 in revenue.

Since motorists were able to use their mobile phones to pay for parking, council traffic wardens have issued 1,250 fewer parking fines - a decrease of eight per cent.

And while the council has made an additional £5,000 from people who did not previously buy tickets, it is still £21,000 down.

The RingGo system was introduced to Bournemouth's council-owned car parks and off-street parking in July 2006.

Motorists simply call a local payment line and the cost of parking is charged directly to their debit or credit card.

Council parking attendants can then see which drivers have used the RingGo system by consulting a handheld device.

Cllr Robert Lawton, cabinet member for environment and transport, said he was delighted with the number of motorists using the scheme.

And he pointed out that while money generated by parking fines is ring-fenced and can only be used for funding parking enforcement, the money the council makes from its car parks can be spent on anything.

"This is great news for Bournemouth locals and visitors," he said.

"RingGo offers a great service to everyone using the council's parking facilities.

"RingGo means no queuing, no small change, no pieces of paper and no long walks back and forth between car and machine.

"RingGo is an excellent scheme and gives no excuse for people not to pay and run the risk of receiving a fine."