Grantham driver faces fine after car park prang takes her over time limit

A Grantham woman faces paying a parking fine of £160 after her car was damaged in Morrisons car park.

Kirsty Knight, a psychotherapist who lives in Grantham, is furious because her car was hit by another vehicle in the car park on March 26.

After dealing with the incident, and trying to contact parking management company Excel Parking without success, she drove out of the car park 18 minutes over the two-hour limit.

After receiving the penalty notice from Excel Parking Services Ltd, she appealed explaining the incident in the car park which had led her to exceed the time limit.

But her appeal was rejected. Ms Knight said: “I am at a total loss. Surely common sense has to prevail. The injustice of it all really winds me up. Every person I have spoken to agrees with me. The police say this shouldn’t be happening.”

Ms Knight sent photos of the damage done to her car to Excel, but the company would not accept her reasons.

In its response to her appeal, it said: “Whilst noting the appellant’s evidence of damage to their vehicle which is now time and date stamped, it is not evident that this damage would have prevented them from removing their vehicle from the site and seeking appropriate alternative parking while they resolved matters.”

Ms Knight said she attempted to call the company three times to explain her situation but could not get through.

She said: “I was following the letter of the law. I have taken legal advice and was told I would probably win in court but that’s not guaranteed. If I lost I would probably end up paying their costs.”

Ms Knight said the incident in the car park was dealt with amicably and the other driver paid for the repairs after admitting responsibility.

Ms Knight has about a week to pay the penalty but has not decided what to do yet.