STUDENT electrician Jamie Conrad fell foul of new parking restrictions at a superstore by overstaying by one minute 27 seconds.

Jamie, 17, had parked in the Aldi car park in St George's Place at Canterbury where the company Parking Eye manages the car park on behalf of the store. He had driven there to use the store and then pop into the city.

His mother, Alison, said: “He met me in town but said he had to go because his time was running out.

“We were furious when he got a ticket for being a minute over the time. Even traffic wardens give you a bit of grace.”

When Jamie got his ticket through the post, Mrs Conrad, of Rockingham Place, Broomfield, called Parking Eye and also wrote to complain. So far, she has not received a response from the company.

Jamie has paid the £40 fine – if he had waited a week it would have risen to £70.

“I was really annoyed when I got the ticket,” said Jamie, a student at Canterbury College. "I had no idea I had overstayed the time. I had even set my phone alarm for two hours when I left the car to make sure I was back.

“Parking Eye said the cameras showed I had gone in at 10.39am and left at 12.40pm. In that minute-and-a-half, I was probably reversing out of the parking space and driving to the exit.

“If I had been half-an-hour over I would have accepted it, but this is ridiculous.”

Jamie added: “I won’t shop in Aldi now and definitely won’t use the car park again.”