The Treasury was accused of using motorists as "cash cows" after it admitted siphoning off more than #2 million raised by Midland speed cameras.
Ministers have insisted cameras are designed to save lives, and proceeds from fines are spent on maintenance and road safety schemes.
But figures obtained from the Department for Transport, under the Freedom of Information Act, show a fifth of all the money raised in the Midlands is simply added to the national revenue raised by general taxation.
Drivers in Warwickshire alone contributed #1.1 million to the Treasury last year. Out of #3 million collected in speeding fines in the county, only #1.9 million was spent on road safety.
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Birmingham has "turned a corner" in its ability to lobby Government Ministers and top civil servants since the city council opened a full time London office, it was claimed.
Birmingham W1, a prestige address in Piccadilly, has for the first time enabled the local authority and business organisations effectively to influence movers and shakers in the corridors of power, according to council policy executive Tony Smith.
Mr Smith, who divides his working week between Birmingham and the London office, said it was important to present a coherent and well-argued case to Government on key issues such as the rebuilding of New Street Station and the relocation of civil service departments from London.
This could not be done properly without a base in the capital.
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When doctors told a Solihull couple their son would "always be different" they refused to give up hope. Health Reporter Emma Brady hears how the Sherlock family helped their son combat autism.
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A single mother who nursed her toddler daughter through life-threatening meningitis has been honoured for her outstanding parenting skills.
Georgette Mullen was just two years-old when she lost her right hand and toes, suffered damaged fingers and was left with a bone-wasting disease.
Her mother Vickie, of Redditch, Worcestershire, nursed her daughter through those traumas and again last year when Georgette, now 13, had 32 pins put in her legs to straighten her bones.
Her 45 year-old mother had to turn the pins as her daughter screamed out in pain.
"I'd cry in the loo, then go back and force a smile," said Vickie.
Georgette, who now plays football and basketball at county level, nominated her mother for the That's Life magazine Single Mum/Dad of the Year Awards.
More on these stories in Thursday's Birmingham Post
