Grandparents Laura and Phil Hayward have hit out at McDonald's after getting a parking fine while they were dealing with a family crisis.

The couple needed somewhere to take their upset granddaughter, so they took her to McDonald’s at Bridgemead.

But after a lengthy process of getting her to talk – during which they purchased food and drink – the Rodbourne couple stayed 30 minutes longer than they were allowed, earning a £100 parking charge.

Laura concedes that there were signs in the car park, and that they did stay longer than the allotted time.

“We totally accept that we didn’t read the signs advising of time restrictions as our focus was on our granddaughter,” said the 58-year-old grandmother.

“We totally understand that some may take advantage of free parking, however we were paying customers throughout that time.”

Laura appealed to the private parking company first, which was rejected, before going directly to McDonald’s, believing that there might be something the firm could do given the circumstances.

But the fast-food chain responded with: “As a company, putting in place enforcements within our car parks is only done after careful consideration and very much as a last resort.

“Primarily, we use parking measures to ensure there are spaces available for our customers’ vehicles, as well as to deter unwarranted or unreasonably prolonged usage of the facility.

“I trust you will appreciate that in order to maintain a consistent approach, we have to adhere to the guidelines in place regardless of whether you were in the restaurant for the duration of the stay or not.

“As such, in a situation such as a clear contravention of parking regulations, we are unable to deal with any specifics or cases on an individual basis.

"Suffice to say, if a customer contravenes the clearly displayed parking regulations, they will receive a ticket.

“If a customer feels they have been wrongly ticketed, we would encourage them to get in touch with the third-party contractor who issued the ticket by way of appeal.”

Laura was not impressed by this response and the lack of compassion or understanding the company displayed towards her issue

She wrote on Facebook ‘McDonald’s is only family-friendly for 90 minutes’ before explaining the situation and then ending the post with ‘Shame on you McDonald’s.’

“McDonald’s likes to say it has this family-friendly image, but when a family actually uses it and spends money it doesn’t want to know,” Laura said.

“Surely there has to be some understanding of potential mitigating circumstances? What about birthday parties, Do they have to leave in 90 minutes?

“All I want is for them to apply some common sense and treat people as individuals and not just as some faceless numbers that spend money.”

“I have no faith in McDonald’s as a brand anymore.”