A CAR parking bonanza has been handed to Worcester City Council - with a whopping £1.5 million raked in during just six months.

Fresh data for the first six months of the current financial year shows how parking income smashed expectations by £184,000.

Last year the city council's Conservative leadership decided to slash parking rates, with prices just £1 after 7pm and as low as 40p for 30 minutes at selected sites.

But rather than hammer the council's budget, between April and September it raked in £1.52 million, £184,000 above forecasts.

For the entire 12-month period the council was aiming to get £2.7 million from parking revenue, but says based on the better-than-expected first half it is now forecasting that to rise by around £150,000 as a very prudent outlook.

The news is a boost to city retailers, and comes before any figures are out for the pre-Christmas period.

Last week your Worcester News revealed how the income from parking fines had plunged, leading to bosses expecting their budget for that to fall short by around £78,000.

Councillor Marc Bayliss, the deputy leader and cabinet member for economic prosperity, city centre and riverside, said: "The income is strong and our car parks are continuing to generate revenue from these reduced charges, which is good news.

"There are some wrinkles in the system with the reduced income from PCNs (parking fines) but I actually think that's a good thing.

"I think our fee structure means more people are doing the right thing and paying to park."

A new report for the Conservative cabinet says the car parking money will be monitored closely over the winter as poor weather can often damage the takings, like floods.

It adds: "But if the weather is favourable it is likely that this surplus is likely to increase."

Last year, the council got £2.8 million from its car parks, but decided to bring their expectations down this year due to the price reductions.

Overall, the city council's 2015/16 budget is forecast to end the year with a surplus of around £283,000 - up from predictions of £220,000 three months ago.

The cabinet endorsed the report during a meeting at the Guildhall.