Britain now has more parking wardens than full-time soldiers - with fines and charges hitting £2.3billion a year, figures have shown.
Nationwide, there are estimated to be about 82,000 traffic enforcement officers patrolling Britain's streets, the British Parking Association said.
This eclipses the number of regular soldiers in the British Army, which has shrunk in recent years, with the latest figures saying there are about 73,490 full-time troops.
And despite funding cuts having recently blighted the UK's military, councils appear to be raking in huge profits from their armies of parking wardens.
Profits nationwide have jumped from £961million two years ago to about £1.1billion in the most recent year.
