GLASGOW City Council has said warning signs for notorious bus lanes are “obviously working” despite the thousands of fines slapped on motorists in the last year.

Figures published this week revealed that the bus lane at Nelson Mandela Place in the city centre attracted 22,317 fines, worth £1.3 million to the local authority.

This was closely followed by the bus lane at Cathedral Street which amassed 17,308 fines.

The figures meant Nelson Mandela Place snared almost as many drivers as all the cameras in Edinburgh.

But despite thousands of motorists paying the price for entering a bus lane, the council said the signs are working.

The local authority argues there has been a reduction is fines since 2016 when 23,713 Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) were given to drivers.

A Glasgow City Council spokeswoman said: “Driving in a bus lane (or gate) has always been an offence for anyone other than authorised vehicles and these traffic management measures are clearly acting as a deterrent, as the number of PCNs issued is down.

“We are pleased that fewer drivers are committing offences and that we are having to issue less PCNs.

“Nelson Mandela Place is one of the most talked about and publicised bus gates in the city. There is clear signage and markings on approach which warn drivers of camera enforcement. The signs are obviously working, as the number of PCNs issued for that location in 2017 was 1,396 less than the previous year.”

Motoring organisation The AA, however, believe the council should be doing more to make drivers aware of bus lanes such as the one in Nelson Mandela Place.

A spokesman for the AA said: "The Department for Transport guidance on the enforcement of bus lanes says regardless of when the bus lanes were set up, first time offenders should be sent a warning letter. Anyone who goes into the bus lane having been warned deserves a ticket.

"We agree with motorists who say that very often they have no idea that they are in a bus lane until they see that sign and they are already committed. Could the council find some way of bringing at least one of those signs further forward to stop people going into that bus lane in the first place?"

The local authority says that PCN payments are reinvested in traffic and transportation services but victim of a bus lane fine believes it is a money making operation for the council.

We previously reported on Marshall Carr who was fined at Cathedral Street after entering the bus lane on police advice.

He has been locked in a battle with Glasgow City Council after his private ambulance was fined while moving a dead body.

Mr Carr claims he was told to go along the bus lane by police due to road closures for the Pedal for Scotland race.

Mr Carr, who has refused to pay the fine since it was issued in September, 2016, said: "It is a money-making exercise for the council, that is all it is.

"I use my Sat Nav a lot and they don't pick these up at all. I think the council knows that.

"When you use a Sat Nav you are not paying attention to the road signs.

"To be honest I think there is no need for bus lanes because at the end of the day buses go on the same road as cars. All they do is cause inconvenience for everyone."