Thousands of drivers have escaped paying parking fines in Leicester because officials have been unable to trace their foreign registered vehicles.
Figures released by Leicester City Council show 2,776 penalty charges were issued to cars from abroad between 2009 and 2013 but only 457 were paid.
While those fines generated over £15,000 the council missed out on nearly £100,000 from those who did not pay.
The authority says it is often hard to trace overseas vehicles because the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) which holds records of UK drivers does not have those of overseas cars.
It says the cost of pursuing overseas drivers would outweigh the income generated.
However the situation has raised concerns about overseas drivers being able to flout parking regulations with impunity.
City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: "This is a problem for councils up and down the country - and it is particularly an issue in London and the Local Government Association is pressing the Government to take action to help council to find overseas drivers.
"It is frustrating but then their does come a point where it is more expensive to pursue the matter than let it go."
The council said the 2,776 tickets given to overseas drivers were just 1.2 per cent of the total number issued over the five years.
Liberal Democrat city councillor Nigel Porter said: "Unfortunately the system as it is means overseas drivers can get away with breaking the rules where British drivers who commit the same offence have to pay.
"Perhaps it balances itself out with English drivers abroad getting away with it but it would seem unfair to most motorists who have paid their road tax.
"If it were a really serious problem perhaps overseas cars could be clamped so the drivers would have to pay up to get released.
"That might be a bit much though.
"Some of it might be genuine misunderstanding of the rules or the tickets because of language barriers."
A city council spokeswoman said: "It is a problem because the DVLA systems don't hold data on foreign vehicles.
"We work very hard to pursue all unpaid parking fines.
However, DVLA systems do not allow us to trace the keeper of foreign vehicles.
"Overall, fines issued to foreign vehicles account for about 1.2 per cent of all tickets issued."
