A motorist who received a fine for straddling a white line in a shopping centre parking bay says the spaces are too narrow.

Frederick Chandler parked up at Hempstead Valley, near Gillingham, and returned about half an hour later to find a £100 penalty charge notice on his windscreen.

The 69-year-old had been hit with a fine because the wheels on one side of his Audi Q7 Quattro were in the neighbouring space.

Mr Chandler, of Maidstone Road, Rainham, appealed against the charge, reduced to £60 if paid within a set time, on the grounds the spaces are too narrow.

The retired probation officer said: “I’ve always felt they need to be a bit more generous with their space sizes.

“I straddled, fine, I should expect to suffer, but the situation is very unfair.

“If two cars parked either side of me I’d be screwed.”

Mr Chandler went back to measure the width of the space and found it to be 2.2 metres.

The dimensions of his car are 1.98m wide, not including wing mirrors, and 5.8m long.

According to regulations, the minimum dimensions of a standard parking space should be not less than 2.4m by 4.8m.

Mr Chandler has since had his appeal rejected by both car park management company UK Parking Control (UKPC) and independent appeal group POPLA.

As a result of deciding to appeal to POPLA, he had to pay the full charge of £100.

Despite going through the appeals process, he still feels he's been unfairly treated.

He said: “Where it’s wrong is that the spaces are so small.

“I took a photo of my car in the Rainham car park and showed it to POPLA and you could see my car fit a lot better.

“If we should have to toe the line, so should they.

“This is the only car park I have a problem in.”

Savills, who are appointed mananging agent for the shopping centre said: “We have been made aware of an issue that has been raised regarding one of the spaces within the carpark run by UKPC.

“The centre takes customer complaints very seriously and is looking into this as a priority.”

UKPC and POPLA have also been asked for a comment.