The trust which runs King George Hospital has raked in more than £6million from car parking charges over the past five years, new figures show.

Parking income for the Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (BHRUT) has jumped from £1,002,630.34 in 2009/10 to £1,452,807.68.

Between the years 2012/13 and 2013/14, the sum increased by more than £180,000.

The figures, obtained in a Freedom of Information request (FoI), show the total income of car parking charges across both King George Hospital, in Goodmayes, and Queen’s Hospital, Romford.

The Recorder’s sister paper, the Romford Recorder, reported on patients who have been hit with fines for failing to buy parking tickets when visiting Queen’s Hospital A&E and when a meeting overran by 10 minutes.

A former employee of the trust, who did not wish to be named, said: “The prices are quite steep, because you can have a long wait for your appointment and sometimes you are then told to come back again another day.

“It needs to be reasonable. The site is in a residential area and it is hard to find somewhere to park.

“Staff also have to pay a lot of parking and, as an ex-worker, I don’t see why we should do that.”

Jackie Nugent, BHRUT’s director of estates and facilities, said charges were in line with local council-run car parks and neighbouring hospital trusts.

A stay of less than an hour for patients and visitors costs £1.20 at both hospitals, while visits of one to two hours cost £2.40.

The three to six hours option costs £4.80 and the highest charge is £18 for more than 12 hours.

Ms Nugent said the trust strived to be as “compassionate as possible,” by offering more free disabled parking than is required and free parking to cancer patients, women in labour and families of terminally ill patients.

She added: “Funds raised from car parking are used to support hospital services and improve patient care.”