Parliament's financial watchdog says the payment of court fines is "almost voluntary" in parts of England and Wales - with around 40% of them going unpaid.

The Commons Public Accounts Committee says last year almost �150m in penalties was written off, usually because the offender could not be traced.

Nationally, just 59% of fines are paid in Magistrate's Courts.

Following is a list showing the percentage of fines paid off in various regions:

THE GOOD AND THE BAD

Dorset 89%

West Yorkshire 86%

Surrey 79%

Cumbria 76%

Lincolnshire 76%

Thames Valley 75%

Durham 75%

North Yorkshire 75%

Essex 75%

Norfolk 74%

Dyfed Powys 73%

Staffordshire 73%

Humberside 71%

Suffolk 70%

Devon & Cornwall 70%

North Wales 69%

Hampshire and Isle of Wight 68%

Lancashire 68%

Wiltshire 67%

South Yorkshire 66%

Gwent 66%

Nottinghmashire 65%

Kent 64%

Northumbria 62%

Leicestershire 62%

Sussex 62%

Greater Manchester 61%

Hertfordshire 59%

Bedfordshire 58%

West Midlands 58%

Cheshire 58%

Derbyshire 58%

Cleveland 54%

Avon & Somerset 54%

Northamptonshire 52%

West Mercia 48%

Warwickshire 46%

Greater London 46%

Gloucestershire 43%

South Wales 40%

Cambridgeshire 36%

Merseyside 34%