New research has found drivers are wasting up to £1.3 billion a year because they don’t have the correct change for pay and display car parking machines. 

The study by from Direct Line car insurance found the average driver overpays by £2.19 on pay and display machines every week – a wasted £113.63 every year.

The study shows that 47 per cent of motorists overpay to avoid potential fines when they are caught short of change and, as a result, buy almost an hour of parking time they then don’t use every week. 

Collectively, this equates to 1.1 billion hours of unused parking time a year.

Young drivers are particularly short-changed, as 18-34 year olds overpay by £3.25 a week - £1.06 more than the average figure.

The research shows Londoners are paying for the most unused parking time, at an average 60 minutes a week. Despite drivers in Wales wasting the lowest amount of change in the UK, they still waste an average 62 minutes a week, the equivalent to 54 hours a year, in overpayments.

AVERAGE AMOUNT WASTED EVERY YEAR ACROSS BRITAIN