Merton Council has pocketed £250,000 in fines from intrusions into just one bus lane.

Councillor William Brierly, cabinet member for traffic and planning, admitted that the amount generated in one year by a camera monitoring Hartfield Road was “unreasonable” and said that their use on the route had been suspended in May.

Coun Brierly said: “My department intends to either considerably adapt or more likely remove the lane in the next couple of months.

“As an administration we do of course support the use of all varieties of sustainable transport, including buses. But we are not in the business of imposing unreasonable traffic distortion to other road users.”

He said that while the changes would lead to a drop in revenue for the council they were needed to strike the right balance of enforcement.

The figure came to light when London Councils, which represents local authorities across the capital, published a borough by borough breakdown of traffic fines in the capital.

The report showed that in the 2007/2008 financial year, Merton issued 12,608 penalty charge notices for bus lane violations - the sixth highest figure in the city, despite the borough’s small size.

Neighbouring Wandsworth and Sutton issued 1,619 and none respectively.

For several years the bus lane in Hartfield Road has angered motorists, with many complaining that they have incurred fines by being forced to drive into it in order to turn down a side street.

Coun Brierly also said that the council was preparing a formal consultation on removing the Wimbledon Hill bus lane, which he blamed for increasing rat running in nearby streets. A similar consultation is being prepared for the Hartfield Road lane.

The council will also need to consult Transport for London about the changes.

The report also showed that Merton issued 43,117 parking fines last year, a total in line with other London boroughs. The figure is a drop of around 20 per cent on last year’s total of 51,969.