Tens of thousands of pounds worth of fines were racked up by a singular van in Tower Hamlets.

The local authority fined the particular vehicle 209 times between March 2018 and August 26 this year, but it is unclear what offences were committed.

It all amounted to at least £36,588 - which is 5,000 more than the average annual UK salary or enough to live in Canary Wharf for a year.

The van in question, which an opposition councillor claims could be the most-charged vehicle in the country, was impounded in September and destroyed by the council.

More than £22,000 is still owed to the council, and warrants have been put out for the fines’ collection.

It is unclear where in the borough the fines were racked up.

Tower Hamlets usually issues far fewer fines than its neighbours, according to a study by ClickForReg.co.uk.

The neighbouring City of London issued the most fines in the capital, while Newham was also in the top 10.

Tower Hamlets, by contrast, hands out some of the fewest fines of any borough in London.

Conservative Tower Hamlets councillor Peter Golds said: “This is another example where Labour Tower Hamlets Council has allowed a dishonest vehicle owner to flagrantly ignore parking restrictions.

“The sum of money owed is quite extraordinary. Why is the council so poor at enforcing its own parking rules?

“This is possibly the highest amount of money owed by a single vehicle nationwide.”

A Tower Hamlets Council spokesperson said: “Vehicles parking illegally is a common problem across the country and our enforcement officers work hard to ensure roads in the borough are free from obstruction.

“As a council we work with partners like London Councils and the British Parking Association (BPA) to lobby government for stronger powers to enforce against such vehicles. This vehicle was a persistent evader.

“We issued 209 PCNs and eventually impounded the vehicle on September 6. We wrote to the driver several times before the vehicle was destroyed on October 19.

“We have collected over £14,500 of the fines owed and have issued warrants for the remaining amount.”