Pettiness is driving the shoppers away

1:07pm Thursday 14th August 2008

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Mother of twins Wendy Owen and her disabled father Dennis say overzealous parking wardens are discouraging people from visiting Marlborough.

Miss Owen, from Ogbourne St George, has vowed never to shop in Marlborough again after a Kennet enforcement officer slapped a ticket on her car because one tyre was over the line of a parking bay.

Her father who lives near Bristol said the experience had put him off visiting Marlborough again.

Mr Owen, 65, is registered disabled and his blue badge was on the dashboard of his daughter's car.

They popped into Marlborough to get some shopping from Waitrose on June 17 in the late afternoon and Miss Owen said: "I could count the number of cars in the car park on both hands."

Miss Owen, 35, said that when she parked, the vehicle in the next bay was over into hers by about two feet.

She said: "I had to leave room to get the boys out and for dad to get out and I did not notice one of my wheels was over the white line."

When Miss Owen, with her father and 18-month-old twins Rohan and Aaron, returned to the car they were surprised to find a fixed penalty notice.

She said she had bought a parking ticket and wondered what the fixed penalty could be for and was surprised it was because one of her tyres was just over the white line.

Mr Owen said: "I went into Waitrose and spoke with the manager and he was amazed at what had happened."

Miss Owen sent a letter of appeal to Kennet but in his reply the parking administrator Neil Heighway said: "The incorrect parking of one vehicle cannot be accepted as reason for another to also park incorrectly."

The letter stated parking regulations required a vehicle to be parked "wholly within a marked bay" and that the enforcement officer had acted quite properly in booking Miss Owen's car.

Miss Owen said that as a result of the correspondence and her delay in paying while trying to get the fine waived, her penalty had doubled to £50.

She said: "I have never known anything so petty.

"I will probably not shop in Marlborough again."

Her father said: "This incident has proved there is no warmth or community spirit in Marlborough.

"Shoppers and tourists should not be treated like this just so the council can make money."

Chamber of Commerce president Peter Davison said: "The parking wardens have to use some common sense over these things.

"The number of complaints the chamber receives about parking has risen significantly since Kennet took over the parking in September 2006."