More Asda shoppers to face fines over parking bay misuse

Jan 11 2008 by Staff Reporter, Liverpool Daily Post

ASDA shoppers will be faced with £60 fines for misuse of disabled or parent and child parking spaces following a successful trial in six Liverpool stores.

The scheme, initially trialled in Aintree, Breck Road, Sefton, St Helens, Walton and Skelmersdale, led to a 60% increase in the number of parking bays for disabled drivers and parents with children.

Around 100 people were fined during the three- month trial.

From Monday, the supermarket will begin to implement the scheme but it is not expected to be in full operation nationwide until mid-March.

A customer poll, carried out in the Liverpool stores, found four out of five people thought fines should be extended nationally. All profits will be donated to baby charity Tommy’s and the Motability car scheme.

Paul Hedley, Asda’s customer service manager, said: “Most customers using the bays without good reason don’t realise their actions impact on people that rely on them.

“Signs will clearly state you will get a fine if you park here unnecessarily. We would encourage anyone that manages a car park to take our lead.”

Asda had made several attempts to tackle the problem by putting leaflets on cars, playing loudspeaker messages and displaying posters and leaflets around the stores.