Newcastle council bosses are still sitting on more than £2 million that is yet to be claimed in refunds from the John Dobson Street bus lane saga.

More than 90 per cent of the money set aside to pay back drivers who were hit with fines from the northbound city centre bus lane camera in 2016 and 2017 remains in the civic centre coffers, officials have confirmed.

Newcastle City Council offered to pay back up to £2.5 million from around 73,000 tickets after a report this summer accused transport chiefs of “fundamental negligence” over their handling of the infamous route, though the local authority has refused to admit wrongdoing and says the refunds are only a gesture of goodwill to bring the long-running scandal to a close.

But only 6,357 refunds have been issued so far, totalling £208,680, and an initial eight-week deadline in which motorists were urged to apply for their money back has now passed.

A further 375 requests have been rejected and, while applications are still being accepted, the council says it no longer has staff dedicated to solely dealing with John Dobson Street refunds so any new requests will take longer to process.

The camera to spot people driving in the northbound bus lane soon became the most prolific in the country – generating nearly £6,000 a day from penalty charges.