What is really going on in politics? Get our daily email briefing straight to your inbox Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Hard-up health workers are ­paying out more in hospital p­arking fines than they earn in a day, a shock survey reveals.

One was fined £140 for not displaying a permit on her ­dashboard while another paid £135 when her car was towed away.

A newly-qualified nurse earns £94.20 per day while a healthcare assistant gets £71.44.

Unison says fewer than one in 10 staff who buys a permit gets a ­guaranteed parking spot at the hospital where they work.

One in five spends half an hour looking for a space.

The Sunday Mirror is fighting to scrap hospital parking charges, which make bumper profits for private firms.

(Image: SWNS.com)

One nurse said: “I was fined £140 for not displaying my permit on the dashboard. It was on the passenger seat clearly visible but due to being in a rush I forgot to place it on the dashboard.”

A student midwife at Nottingham University Hospital added: “I had to pay £135 and my car was towed away. I thought my car had been stolen.

“The whole thing was very distressing and put me into debt for the month.”

(Image: PA Archive/Press Association Images)

Another nurse said: “I’ve had several car parking fines at £30 each. I have to park on a street and add to the meter every two and a half hours.

“But sometimes I cannot leave a patient to feed the meter.”

Parking charges and fines on staff, patients and visitors made £226million for NHS trusts in England last year.

The findings were based on a survey of 3,560 NHS workers.

Unison wants trusts to axe the charges within two years and make parking free for night-shift workers immediately.