The whopping £9M Cheshire court fines that have never been paid

Cheshire criminals have racked up more than £9M in unpaid court fines.

The staggering figure is the total for fines imposed at Cheshire's magistrates' courts and crown courts, including compensation, costs, victim surcharges and fixed penalty notices.

Those convicted in Cheshire who have not been paying for their crimes have racked up a mountain of fines totalling £9.2M, government data reveals.

A shocking £3.2M was built-up in 2013-14 alone - but the rest dates back over the years.

Data released by the government last week reveals criminals across England and Wales owed the courts a whopping £548.8M at the end of the last financial year.

Last year Cheshire's Crime Commissioner John Dwyer said he hoped more visible community service would put a stop to 'laughable' court fines.

Speaking to the Chronicle during an exclusive interview Mr Dwyer said: "In my view there’s no point in [paying 50p a week], the public will laugh at it, as indeed I scoff at it.”

London Central and South (£51.1m) and Greater Manchester (£36.7m) had the most.

Dyfed Powys had the least, at £3.3m – followed by Durham (£3.4m) and North Yorkshire (£3.7m).

The national figure was released by courts minister Shailesh Vara in response to a parliamentary question.

Mr Vara said: “This government takes recovery and enforcement of financial impositions very seriously and remains committed to finding new ways to ensure impositions are paid and to trace those who do not pay.

"That is why there has been a year on year increase in the total amount of financial penalties collected over the last three years."

“The amount of money collected reached an all-time high of £290m at the end of 2013/14 and collections continue to rise.”