The figures were revealed as a major Sheriff’s blitz on Wednesday in the Ballarat CBD identified 17 people with 282 outstanding warrants valued at more than $80,000, including one Stawell resident who had racked up 145 warrants, owing nearly $40,000.

Fifteen of the fine evaders had the unpleasant surprise of returning to their cars after shopping in Ballarat to find their car’s wheels had been clamped, and soon after greeted by uniformed Grampians region officers.

Twelve of those people paid up in full the same day, finalising warrants worth almost $30,000.

Brendan Facey, the Sheriff of Victoria, said the office used automated number plate recognition technology to identify offenders within shopping centre car parks and other locations.

Mr Facey said to justify a wheel clamp, a person would need to have an unpaid fine that had escalated to the stage of a warrant. However, he said the Sheriff’s Office also had the power to suspend a person’s car registration or driver’s license or even bring them before a court for potential jail time.

He said Ballarat didn’t stand out as being better or worse than other cities in terms of unpaid fines, but he warned people the sheriff’s office could nab offenders at any time – not just on special operations.

“Today we’re here, but we’re on all day, anywhere. We knock on people’s doors, or car parks like this. It literally can be anywhere, anytime,” Mr Facey said.

“Most people go ‘right, you’ve got me’ and they know that’s the case.”

The number plate recognition technology enables Sheriff’s Office vehicle to patrol car parks and automatically compare plates against a database listing vehicles with outstanding warrants.

“The earlier you deal with them, the cheaper they are. Fees won’t go on if you deal with them straight away and you also have more options for how to pay for them. We urge people to ring the number on the ticket and find out their options,” Mr Facey said.