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.

By The Newsroom

Published 28th Dec 2016, 05:00 BST

Updated 29th Dec 2016, 15:03 BST

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.”