A BEMUSED driver is asking Morrisons supermarket to clarify car parking rules after she was issued with an £85 penalty, which was then retracted.

Gill Ackling, from Haydon End, was served with an £85 notice on Sunday, May 17 after she parked in Morrisons car park at Regent Circus.

Along with her husband Geoff, Gill had been attending a 50th birthday party at Coal Bar And Grill when she was issued with the fine.

The couple had initially paid for two hours of parking which they topped up twice during their four-hour stay there. They admit they failed to see signs stating there was a three-hour maximum stay.

After receiving the notice the couple launched an unsuccessful appeal to Euro Car Parks, which operates the space on behalf of WM Morrisons.

But after the Adver got in touch with Euro Car Parks and Morrisons, Gill received an email and voicemail saying the fine had been cancelled, as a gesture of goodwill.

She said: “I’m pleased it’s resolved but I don’t think they know what they’re doing.

“They haven’t got to the bottom of why I complained, all they’ve said is that if I want to park for longer I need to contact a member of customer service.

“I wasn’t a customer and the shop was shut. To me they haven’t dotted the i’s or crossed the t’s. I’ll be following this up with them.”

Gill is now warning fellow drivers to beware after she was penalised despite having paid the full amount to park there.

“We were responsible drivers who made sure we returned every hour to ensure we didn’t go over the parking limit,” she said.

“I don’t see the way around this. Morrisons was shut, it was a Sunday evening so why were we fined in the first place?

“There was no other parking on this site and we were trying to support a local business. To me this seems like a money making exercise. I wonder how many other people have received this treatment.

“It’s morally wrong to charge people. They still took my money for those four hours of parking and now I wonder where I can park if I come back into the town centre.”

Euro Car Parks did not respond to the Adver’s request for a comment.

Have you been issued with a parking fine in similar circumstances? Call the newsdesk on 01793 501797.