A family has ruled out returning to an Aylesford retail park after being hit with parking fines for visiting twice in one day.

Brian Edwards saw his original £60 fine rise to more than £300 after a year of denying the charge, and has now landed a date in court.

Meanwhile, his daughter Lucy Edwards won an appeal after she was accused of using the 90-minute stay car park, off Hermitage Lane, for 10 hours, last month.

Grandfather Stan Edwards, 71, of Hartridge Farm, East Farleigh, is warning others to be careful.

He said his son and granddaughter went to the car park for Aldi, McDonald’s and Poundstretcher twice in one day.

He added: “If you’re fined, you’ve got to prove you are innocent. It should be down to the parking companies to prove guilt.”

"I've got proof I was elsewhere in between" Brian Edwards

The family claim ANPR cameras logged the time of their first entrance and the time of them exiting on their second visit. Signage does not mention a prohibition on parking more than once.

Mr Edwards, 49, from Rowan Close, Aylesford, is accused of using the car park for six hours in December 2016.

He said: “The first visit I made was to Poundstretcher. You can hardly spend six hours shopping there.

“I returned later that night to use the McDonald’s drive-thru. I’ve got proof I was elsewhere in between.

“We were going to use the Aldi for our weekly shop, now we use Tesco. At least you don’t get fined for parking there.”

Mr Edwards now faces a date in the small claims court in Maidstone in March as his fine rises to £326, as he initially ignored the claim.

Lucy appealed her fine and it was overturned.

The 20-year-old said: “I used to go there to shop with my friend, but haven’t returned since.”

Her grandfather posted a warning on Facebook, which has now been shared more than 600 times by users across the country.

He said: “Be careful if you visit a car park more than once the same day. Don’t spoil your Christmas.”

Civil Enforcement Service, responsible for the car park and ANPR cameras, has not replied to our approaches for comment.