A parking company has scrapped "unfair" parking charges after residents rallied against fines levied for driving along a back road to reach shops and doctor appointments.

Motorists became incensed after being charged £100 for using Nightingale Way to access services in Swanley town centre.

Over the last few weeks numerous shoppers attempting to access the Aldi supermarket - which has a free car park for customers – reported being stung by the fee at the adjacent Swanley town car park.

Many claimed to have received parking charge notices (PCNs) detailing alleged offences for simply driving down Nightingale Way.

One shopper said: "I'm so angry about it. All I have done is drive down Nightingale Way to get to Aldi's car park, I’ve done my shopping and exited.

"I have been down this road another three times, so am I going to get issued another three fines to come through the post?"

Another told KentOnline: "It is disgusting. I will be chaining myself to the bollards if nothing is done about it."

But now the parking company responsible for the site said it would be axing the fees.

County Car Parks Ltd (CCP), which manages the car park at Swanley Square, said it had cancelled all PCNs for a time period of up to and including 30 minutes, irrespective of the contravention.

This will apply to anyone receiving a PCN from March 9, when the automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system went live, until March 24.

“Having undertaken an additional review of the PCNs, we have decided to cancel them and will carry out a review of the locations of the ANPR cameras,” a spokesman said.

“Drivers are not penalised for driving along Nightingale Way, however, a PCN will be issued to vehicles parking and waiting on the double red lines or kerbsides.

“We’ve also agreed to add even more signage within the car park and on Nightingale Way to ensure drivers understand clearly where they can and cannot stop or park.”

Sevenoaks MP Laura Trott was approached by various Swanley and Hextable residents raising their concerns and a petition was launched.

She said: "I am aware of the situation and am urgently working with Swanley Town Council.

"I have written to the managing director of LCP Management Limited, and CCP to raise very serious concerns on behalf of the constituents who have received penalty charge notices for using the road, and asked for all tickets to date to be cancelled."

The MP also called for increased grace periods, designated drop-off zones and better signage following complaints from residents over misleading diversions.

Swanley Town Council said it understood the "frustration and distress" and had been in "lengthy discussions" with both the car park management firm and the new town centre owners.

Chief executive Ryan Hayman said it was "lobbying for changes to be made to the system, and for all fines issued to date to be cancelled".

Property and investment company London Cambridge Properties (LCP), which manages Swanley Square on behalf of the landlord Evolve Estates Ltd, said the automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system was installed in January prior to its acquisition of the estate.

It went live earlier this month and new signage was also erected across the site in January to update users regarding the new ANPR system.

A spokesman for LCP, said: “We welcome the goodwill gesture by CCP and hope this resolves the concerns of visitors to Swanley Square retail park.”

Last year, the road markings on Nightingale Way were changed to double red lines at the request of Swanley Town Council, which had noted drivers ignored the yellow lines and parked along the road and kerbsides.

With ANPR in place, CCP says users can pay for parking via the machine with cash or card or they can download an app to their mobile devices to pay.

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