A woman has hit out at a “cold-hearted” parking company after receiving a £100 fine for stopping in a retail park while her husband felt unwell.

Lynne Butcher and husband Henry, who was behind the wheel, were driving to their home in South Willesborough, Ashford, when Mr Butcher “took a funny turn”.

Mrs Butcher was concerned she might have to call an ambulance so the pair pulled into Ashford Retail Park in Sevington to take a break just after 6.30pm where they stayed for 27 minutes.

Mrs Butcher, 59, explained: “It was pitch black.

“I didn’t even think about looking at the signs to see what they said because I was more concerned about my husband’s health.

“I didn’t know if I was going to be calling an ambulance.

“But thankfully he recovered.

“We were only there for 27 minutes and went straight home.”

A month after the incident on February 26, a £100 fine landed on their doorstep for parking after 5.30pm on a Sunday, when restrictions applied.

At the time, signs said parking was allowed for three hours for free between 6am and 9pm Monday to Saturday and from 6am to 5.30pm on a Sunday.

The rules then changed on March 27, a day after the Butchers received the fine in the post.

The new terms and conditions say customers can now park for up to three hours from 7am to 9pm every day.

“For his safety we parked there and I thought it was really disgusting we were given this fine,” Mrs Butcher added.

She tried to appeal the penalty to Group Nexus, the company which runs the car park in Barrey Road, and explained to them the events that night.

But the appeal was rejected.

“I came here the day after receiving the letter and there were black bin sacks over each of the signs so I couldn’t verify what their parking rules were,” she added.

“I sent a photo of the black sacks, a photo of my husband’s blue badge letting them know what happened that night and waited.

“Then we had an email come through another month later to say there were plenty of signs. We don’t accept this as a valid excuse.

“It was a medical emergency. We weren’t there for very long.

“I felt they were cold-hearted and I’m just thoroughly disgusted by their reaction.

“I nearly lost my husband to Covid so with all the worries I have about his health, we didn’t need this extra expense or worry.”

After the appeal was rejected, Mr and Mrs Butcher paid the fine which was reduced to £60, with an additional £1.50 admin fee online.

A spokesperson for Group Nexus said: “The parking charge was issued on March 9 as the vehicle remained on site during a no parking period on February 26.

“As per the signage which was displayed at the time, the three hour maximum stay applied between the hours of 6am and 5.30pm.

“No parking was permitted outside of these hours.

“The vehicle was on site from 6.32pm to 7pm.

“We received an appeal which was subsequently rejected on April 25 and full payment was received on May 5.

“The new terms and conditions, along with new signage, have been in place from March 27.”

The restrictions at the shopping facility have previously been branded "ridiculous" by dozens of shoppers who were fined £100 for staying for more than three hours.

Those unaware of the time limit felt signs were not obvious enough.