How much money does Northants County Council receive in library fines?
We've all forgotten to take a library book back before the all-important due date at some point in our life.
But doing so brings a fine – and Northants County Council probably receives more money from bookworms’ late returns than you might think.
A Freedom of Information request by this newspaper found that from April to October this year, the authority received £48,300 in fines.
That’s down from £57,200 for the same period in 2015, but still a large sum.
The smallest fine possible is 5p, where a book borrowed by a child aged between five and 17 is one day overdue.
The largest fine possible is £14.70, where a book borrowed by an adult is 42 or more days overdue.
A Northamptonshire County Council spokesman said: “All income received by the library service, including money paid in overdue fines and reservation and hire charges, goes back into libraries to deliver services and purchase new stock.”