Motorists who have failed to pay the Dartford Crossing fee have stumped up more than £53million in fines so far.

Although removing the toll barriers at the Thames Crossing has been credited with dramatically reducing the waiting times, according to a Freedom of Information request, a staggering 7.7m fines have been issued since the barriers were replaced with an ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) based charging system in 2014, according to Car Buyer.

Under the old system, drivers paid at the barriers using coin-operated collection booths.

From 30 November 2014, the system was automated, logging the identity of cars as they cross the river.

Car drivers are required to pay £2.50 for each crossing using an online payment system, over the phone, via a Payzone outlet or by post.

Crossing payments must be made by midnight the following day, or motorists face a £70 fine, reduced to £35 if settled within 14 days. Account figures released by Highways England show the enforcement of these fines has become a considerable income stream for the crossing.

Between 2015 and 2016, the first complete accounting year during which the barrierless system was in operation, £76.7m was paid by 'Dart Charge' account holders – individuals and organisations who regularly use the Dartford crossing and are granted a discount. An additional £31.3m was paid by those without Dart Charge accounts, either online, by phone, mail or Payzone.

However, enforcement revenue generated through fines for non-payers reached £53.1m over the same period – almost 33% of the Dartford Crossing's total income. A further £3m was taken in the four months of the previous year in which the new scheme was in operation.

Compared to 2014-15, total Dartford Crossing income rose by some £61.7m, a figure explained in the official document as "primarily due to the application of enforcement management measures across the whole financial year and increases to traffic flow".

The document also states traffic volume increased by only 8% – and only 7.3% during the chargeable period of 6am to 10pm every day.