Thousands of motorists have been hit with fines after a camera was installed at a junction.

Haringey council started issuing fines in January for drivers turning at the junction of High Road and Dowsett Road, Tottenham, which is a ‘no left turn’.

Between January 1 and April 13, 8,751 fines were issued.

Of these, less than half - 4,268 - have been paid, making the council £300,300.

Only 3.5 per cent of tickets have been cancelled, meaning the council could comfortably make more than £500,000 in the first quarter of this year once the outstanding tickets have been settled.

Bobette Watson, who recently received a fine for turning left at the junction, said: “I believe this has become a cash cow for the council and it is scandalous how much money they are raking in.”

The restriction has been in place at the turn for years but the council only began enforcing penalties in January after installing CCTV cameras, without warning motorists it would be doing so.

In their response to a Freedom of Information request, a spokesman for the council said: “This location experiences high levels of contraventions which put all road users at risk.

“We would not feel it necessary to give notice of our intention to enforce such contraventions.”

Since enforcement began, the number of fines issued has dropped after a slight rise from 2,391 to 2,400 from January to February. The number fell to 1,872 in March and then 1,825 in April. 

A Haringey council spokesman said: “This traffic camera is used to enforce against drivers who perform dangerous, illegal left turns at a busy junction, which is clearly marked.

“All money raised from parking tickets goes back into highways improvements, such as resurfacing, and traffic and travel schemes that keep our roads safe and traffic flowing smoothly.”

The information request was submitted by former Labour councillor for St Ann’s and chair of the Dowsett Road residents association Zena Brabazon.

Ms Brabazon became interested in the amount of tickets being issued and fines collected after a resident approached her “incandescent” with rage when someone coming to visit him was ticketed using the turn.

She said: “The fines seem arbitrary, the council could have given people some grace or some kind of amnesty before enforcement but they didn’t.

“The access to Tottenham High Road is a real problem and it’s all a bit of a muddle.

“I think the council needs to look at the whole area and rethink the parking and traffic management system.”