Barnet Council issued almost £600,000-worth of parking tickets to drivers parked with wheels on the pavement last year.

The news emerged as wardens handed out fines to cars parked on pavements in East Barnet last week, despite some of the roads being so narrow that the council's dustcarts cannot access them if cars are parked on the road.

Almost 7,500 tickets were given out for parking on pavements last year, despite a culture in the borough of leaving two wheels up in narrow roads to allow the free flow of traffic.

One in 20 of parking tickets issued in the borough between April 2005-March 2006 was for parking on pavements.

Motorist Graham Hussey, of Mansfield Avenue, East Barnet, said he has parked with two wheels on the pavement for years, but has stopped since the wardens came round last Friday. And on Wednesday, he was forced to move his car to let a council lorry through. "I think it is just revenue raising," he said. "There is no way that anybody would have complained about parking in Mansfield Avenue that is absolute rubbish."

A council spokeswoman said: "Parking on footways, verges, island sites, central reservations and any part of the highway that is not a carriageway is prohibited throughout London, except where signs and markings show it is permitted.

"Just because a road is narrow does not mean a vehicle can be parked on a footway. We are a large borough and there are many competing demands on our parking attendants, so our policy is to direct parking attendants to streets where we have had complaints or requests for enforcement to take place. Once we have visited a street, random repeat visits may take place in the future."

Councillor Brian Salinger, leader of the council, has promised to look into the issue but has yet to release any details of a possible change in policy.