A day out in Dover turned into a nightmare for a pensioner and her disabled husband and mother.

Rita Polly, 62, had to wait six weeks to learn her appeal against her car being clamped was rejected, despite having disabled badges.

She had gone out with husband Robert, 68, and her mother Joyce Heasman, 88, to see the attractions at the Hellfire Corner weekend in the town in June.

Mrs Polly, of Cheriton, parked in what she thought was a public car park on Pencester Gardens but on her return an hour later found her car had been clamped because it was private car park.

This was despite having two disabled badges for Mr Polly’s heart condition and diabetes and Mrs Heasman’s angina.

The Security Industry Authority (SIA) who are licensed by the Government to regulate things such as parking says on its website that clampers must not immobilise cars with valid disabled badges in case the car is needed in an emergency.

Mrs Polly claims the rules were ignored by Able Securities who clamped her in June.

The experience was made all the worse by the fact she was trying to take her mother to visit her seriously ill husband Albert at the Kearsney Manor Nursing Home.

She said: "My husband has a serious heart problem and is diabetic and has been known to collapse when he has had a problem.

"My mother has angina and a bad ankle which gives way unexpectedly so if I needed to move the car quickly to take them to hospital in an emergency I would have been unable to."

Mrs Polly was also upset because she felt the signs explaining it was a private car park were inadequate.

Proprietor of Able Securities Dougie Mooring said: "We have consulted with the SIA and we understand we were quite within our rights to remove the car.

"Mrs Polly’s vehicle was parked on private land and the blue badge scheme does not operate on private land.

"It can take us up to eight weeks to sort through any claims made against us."