DRIVERS in Dorset are still wasting money on car parking machines that don’t give change.

A staggering £2.4billion in coins is left in the nation’s pay and display ticket machines each year, and a survey shows people in the South West overpay by £1.82 a week.

But councils say they are powerless to help out because there’s no change-giving machine on the market.

And they won’t install the larger pay-on-exit machines found in multi-storeys because they are more expensive and attract thieves. Poole has 101 pay and display machines that don’t issue change, but the council doesn’t have figures on the surplus they make.

Jason Benjamin, Parking Services Manager, Borough of Poole, said he understood drivers’ frustrations with non change-giving machines.

Mr Benjamin said: “Unfortunately, within the parking industry we are not aware of suppliers that manufacture pay and display machines with the option for change giving, mainly due to the security risks associated with machines having change within them at all times.”

A chip and pin payment system could be trialled in key car parks in the future, he said.

There are more than 100 of the offending machines in Bournemouth, but the council says it spends the extra money made on machine maintenance and replacement.

Mike Holmes, Service Director for Planning and Transport, says growing numbers of customers are using Ring Go, a text service which allows users to pay for their exact parking time.

Mr Holmes said: “We will look to replace our older ticket machines as and when required and will consider the option to introduce machines that provide change.”

Drivers put nearly £6,000 of extra money into East Dorset District council’s 23 car parks, representing 1.3 per cent of its ticketing income.

A spokesman said: “Pay on foot machines are much larger, much more expensive and at risk of theft. It would cost considerably more than we make in excess change to install them.”