A mum felt she paid the price for sticking to Covid-19 guidelines after nipping to the shops to buy her children some treats.

Amanda Lee overstayed her permitted 60-minute visit to the B&M in Chatham after waiting eight minutes to get into the store and a 25-minute social distanced queue to the checkout.

Mrs Lee, who said she was only made aware of the restricted parking time limit when she got to the till, appealed against the £50 penalty on the grounds that she could not have completed her shopping any quicker.

After hearing nothing from the enforcement company, Smart Parking, she then "out of the blue" received a notice from a debt recovery firm saying she now owed £160.

Correspondence regarding her appeal had been delivered to the wrong address in Broadway, Gillingham, where she lives with husband John and her three children.

A sharp-eyed postman at Royal Mail spotted the mistake and the letter was eventually sent to her home just before Christmas.

Mrs Lee forked out £50 after Smart Parking agreed to reduce the amount as a "goodwill gesture".

But after KentOnline contacted the firm, it has now agreed to scrap the fine completely.

Mrs Lee is angry that the rules have not been made more lenient to tie in with conditions imposed during the pandemic.

She said: "It turned out to be an expensive shopping trip to buy stocking fillers. I admit I went over the time limit but I would never have gone there if I had known.

"I'm sure other people have fallen foul of this and some would have buried their heads in the sand and just paid. There must be hundreds of people who have just paid.

"I think the people of Medway need to be made aware of this absolutely unrealistic parking enforcement which can only be for one purpose and that is to make money out of the public in these difficult times."

A spokesman for Smart Parking said: "Due to its geographical location, the car park at the B&M Chatham store experiences significant challenges in respect of unauthorised parking.

"To ensure genuine customers can always find a place to park, Smart Parking operates a state-of-the-art ANPR parking management system that monitors motorists entering and exiting.

"It turned out to be an expensive shopping trip to buy stocking fillers..."

"At the car park, motorists get one hour of free parking, but are liable for a charge if they stay longer unless they can prove they have purchased goods from the store.

"Smart Parking operates an externally audited appeals service and we would encourage any motorist to contact us if they think they have been incorrectly charged.

"In the case of Ms Lee, who parked for nearly 90 minutes, she appealed to us but, at the time, did not provide any evidence.

"She has subsequently contacted us with evidence that she purchased goods from the store so we are happy to confirm we have now cancelled her charge and are in the process of refunding her charge."

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