A new mum is calling for change after being fined £100 for parking over the line to safely remove her newborn twins. Kelly Kitchen, 36, returned to her vehicle after an hour of shopping to discover the penalty for slightly crossing into the next bay.
The mother-of-two explained that there were no parent and child parking bays available. But the new mum needed to fully open both rear car doors to get her boys out of their car seats, which then fit onto the buggy frame, meaning she went slightly over the line into the next bay.
Despite appealing the decision and explaining her predicament, her plea was rejected. She said this is not the only time it has happened but said the last time, in a Durham car park, the fine was waived after she explained the situation.
The personal assistant, currently on maternity leave, was visiting the retail outlet on December 5 with her now 12-week-old sons, Jesse and Joey, when she was hit with the fine. “It was absolutely packed and there were no parent and child spaces available,” she said.
She said she had no choice but to park a little bit over the line into an empty space next to her in order to get the car seats out of both sides of her ToyotaRAV4. The single mum, from Stainton, has contacted both Teesside Park management and enforcement company Minster Baywatch several times but her appeal has been rejected, reports Teesside Live.
She expressed her frustration, saying: “No-one seems to be interested. No-one wants to help me, I feel like I am just going round in circles.”
Kelly said there is a shortage of parent and child parking spaces at Teesside Park, and those available are not wide enough to accommodate the easy removal of children from both sides of the vehicle. She commented: “I can’t possibly be the only person who has this problem.
“It is not just Teesside Park, it’s the same everywhere. The car seats are really bulky so I need to open the doors fully wide to get them out. I never gave it a thought before I had children, but now I just don’t know how other people do it.”
In response, a spokesperson for Teesside Park said: “Our car park is managed by Minster Baywatch, the policies and systems in place are designed to ensure that there are always spaces available for those who need them. For those visiting with small children, we have dedicated parent and child spaces across the car park, and also time restrictions in place in the Retail South car park to ensure as many spaces are available as possible.”