Wandsworth Council has been labelled “sneaky” after making £1.2m in a year from fining motorists caught by CCTV cameras outside stations.

More than 21,000 fines of between £60 and £120 were issued for motoring offences such as stopping to drop off family and friends.

Neil Bennett, 60, from Blandfield Road in Balham, was caught twice in the same night in Grant Road behind Clapham Junction when he went to collect someone.

He said: “For a total of 40 seconds outside the station, the fine was £240. I didn’t realise I wasn’t allowed to do it, there wasn’t adequate signage.

“It’s unreasonable and unfair. In neither case was there any traffic in the area. It’s just a sneaky way of raising more revenue for the council.”

Grant Road was the council’s second biggest earner last year, at £244,385, while the first, in Mitcham Road outside Tooting Broadway, earned £246,555.

Between the two, they made up almost half of the total £1,183,400 made by the council between April 2009 and March 2010.

The findings have been slammed by Martyn Ellacott, chair of Wandsworth Access Association of People with Disabilities, who said it restricted those who could not walk far.

He said: “The stations should provide a drop off point for the disabled. I don’t think it’s fair that their family and friends should get fined.

“As far as we’re concerned, all disabled people have a right to travel. That includes people with serious illness such as heart disease or injuries which restrict walking.”

Croydon East station, in nearby Croydon borough, provides drop-off bays which charge 50p for 30 minutes.

A spokesman for Wandsworth Council said illegal stopping was only one of the offences detected by cameras placed outside stations.

They added: "It is quite proper for councils to try and tackle illegal and obstructive parking in heavily congested locations.

"The drivers who are being caught know full well they shouldn't be parking here and causing inconvenience or danger to others but they do not seem willing to park 50 yards further up the road.

"The simple message is that drivers won't get a ticket if they park properly."