A disabled woman has expressed her shock after she received a fine from Tesco after parking in one of the supermarket's disabled bays.
Maggi Mottishaw says she has been off work for two years following a serious back operation, and her employer classes her as disabled, but she does not have a blue badge.
When she utilised a disabled parking space at the Tesco Extra store in Yeovil, the supermarket slapped her with a hefty fine.
A Tesco spokesman has apologised for what the supermarket sees as an error in its processes, and has added that the fine has now been cancelled, but Maggi says she will not be shopping there again.
In a letter to local newspaper Western Gazette, she wrote: "I had mentioned to them that I needed to park close to the store in Tesco and they said if necessary it was okay to park in a disabled space, just to let them know.
"However, I received a £70 fine in the post from Tesco.
"Tesco need to think about their harsh policies and the effect they have on those who are as unwell as the permanently disabled albeit, hopefully, for a temporary period, and maybe employ staff to oversee their car park as they used to.
"I'm surprised at their big-brother tactics, with their poor sales performance, that they would risk alienating customers.
"I informed the manager that I will be shopping elsewhere where the car parking is better organised and the policies more humane."
Maggi says she does not have a disabled badge because she is determined to get better following a back operation two years ago after sustaining a herniated disc.
She wrote: "Having been perfectly fit, despite being run down on a zebra crossing 20 years ago, I've had gluteal tendonitis along with bursitis for four years due to a mistake made with my heel raise.
"The weakened muscles caused a cyst to form after a disc herniated at the base of my spine giving me permanent electric sciatica, alongside the already very painful muscles.
"I had a spinal operation to remove the cyst which was wrapped around my spinal cord on March 19, so I'm still very much in the throes of recovery.
"Although my employer classes me as disabled as I've had in excess of two years in total absent from work, I have never applied for a disabled badge because I'm determined to get better and count myself lucky to have that possibility.
"I live alone with absolutely no family to help me or take me shopping."
Tesco statement
A spokesman for Tesco said: “We have controls in place at our stores to prevent misuse of disabled parking spaces so that they are kept available for customers who need them.
"In this case, the parking charge notice was issued in error and has already been cancelled.
"We are sorry to Ms Mottishaw for any upset or confusion that was caused by this mistake and hope to welcome her back to our Yeovil Extra store soon.”
Want more news?
To subscribe to our daily newsletter, enter your email address into the box at the top of this story.
To keep up to date with our latest news, follow us on Facebook and Twitter .
Find our Somerset Facebook page here , and our Bath Facebook page can be found here .
