A woman who was dropping off clothes to a charity shop has been slapped with a £100 fine for trying to do a good deed.

Alana Bathgate, 40, was left in shock when she saw a penalty charge notice (PCN) letter drop through her door more than two weeks after she visited the mental health charity Mind.

The housewife, who lives in Chiddingstone Causeway village near Tonbridge, was visiting the town’s high street store, to deliver some her mother-in-law’s clothes after she passed away.

After speaking to the manager Mel, Alana was told to park round the back of the shop to drop off the clothes.

It was then that a camera from One Parking Solution snapped the car and sent a £100 fine her way.

Alana said: “Having lost my mother-in-law last year we had a lot of sorting to do and therefore decided to donate lots of belongings to Mind.

“We had already donated lots of stuff before and had unloaded behind the store before after speaking to the manager.

“We dropped our son at school and headed to the store to drop off another car load of stuff – some items were quite big so it would’ve been difficult to carry and parking on the high street would’ve been dangerous.”

The mum received a letter about the fine more than two weeks later, on October 11, meaning she missed the 14 day period to reduce her fine to £60 through early payment.

She’s now appealed the decision and is hoping to get the fine removed.

“It must have got lost in the post,” she said. “I was shocked and felt I was being penalised for doing a good deed.

“You can clearly see by the pictures taken that we’re unloading and the manager Mel and her colleague are seen helping unloading in one of the photos.

“Mel is having a word with head office as I’m aware I’m not the only person this has happened to.”

Andrew Vale, director of retail at Mind, said: “We are aware of this issue, and we are aiming to meet with One Parking Solution to find a solution to this.

“In the meantime, we encourage anyone who has received a fine while dropping off donations to contact the shop directly on 01732 666040 and we may be able to help.”