"I certainly won’t be parking there again!"

That was the reaction of several customers who were met with a new parking system in two Ashford town centre car parks this week.

NCP have introduced new cashless payment rules at selected locations in the UK, including the one near the County Square shopping centre and the one alongside Park Mall.

As part of a 10-day trial, customers will only be able to pay for their parking by card or their mobile phone, and not with coins or notes.

The parking giant says the move was prompted by a downward trend in customers paying by cash, and claim cashless parking saves time as you don’t need to find change.

However, the move hasn’t impressed some shoppers.

Chris Weaver, who works for Xerox, parked in the County Square NCP on Tuesday for the first time.

He said: “I’d never expect to find a cashless machine. I carry cash with me, but I don’t always have my card on me at work. I keep coins in the car as I use a lot of car parks.

“I don’t want to park here again. I think it is a disgrace.” - Elizabeth Anning

“I won’t be coming again out of principle.”

Elizabeth Anning, from Appledore, wasn’t very happy at having to pay by card either.

She said: “You’ve got no proof of what is going on your card. The machine didn’t give me a receipt. I didn’t even have to put my PIN in.

“I don’t want to park here again. I think it is a disgrace.”

Nick Murton, from Dover, who has lived in Ashford most of his life, saw a sign about the changes at County Square last week.

He said: “There are two points here. Surely people have the right to chose how they pay, and secondly with all the card fraud which is in our world today, I can imagine many people, myself included, will not be happy to pay with their card.”

He adds: “The cash machines are already in situ so why can they not be kept for customers who wish to pay with cash?

“I for one will not be returning to that particular car park, simply because I will not use my debit card for such a small fee, and especially in a car park machine, where card fraud would easily be possible.”

A spokesman for NCP said: “NCP is working hard to understand our customers’ requirements whilst at the same time ensuring no customer is inconvenienced.

“Our colleagues are fully trained to help all customers upon immediate arrival to the car park, explain how the trial works and assist them in every way possible.

“Customers who are unable to pay with a payment card will be assisted by our onsite teams during this period. All payments made with a payment card will not incur any additional fees.

“We apologise sincerely to any customer who decides not to park with us during this time, but we have found so far that our customers have been incredibly positive and supportive, and have been working really well with our colleagues on site."