Grandmother fined £155 for leaving car parked outside supermarket while being rushed to hospital
A GRANDMOTHER has been slapped with a £155 parking ticket for leaving her car outside a supermarket – while she was rushed to hospital with head injuries.
Rose Sharman, 70, smashed her face and arm when she stumbled on uneven cobblestones while shopping in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire.
Until recently, the grandmother thought the March ordeal, which saw her spend a night in hospital, was in the past – then she received a £155 fine.
Mrs Sharman had parked her Ford Fiesta in the Morrisons car park while she shopped, and her daughter collected it later that day after hearing of her mother’s fall.
Then, three months later, the newly widowed pensioner received the penalty notice from Euro Car Parks, which operates the car park, saying she had breached the three-hour maximum stay.
The letter stated that an ANPR camera photographed Mrs Sharman’s car entering the car park at 10am on March 25 and leaving at 3.10pm.
The company said: “Your vehicle was parked longer than the maximum period.”
Mrs Sharman said she usually parked in the multi-storey car park, “but I wanted some fuel so I parked in Morrisons”.
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“I went into town to get some bits and pieces.
“I remember coming up the steps and out of the Swansgate Shopping Centre.
“The next thing I knew I was on the floor, there was this woman saying ‘are you alright?’ It was awful.
“I didn’t know I was on the floor. I didn’t realise I had hit my head. I just wanted to go home.”
An ambulance rushed her to Kettering General Hospital, where she was treated for severe bruising and grazing and kept overnight with a suspected concussion.
The 70-year-old’s injuries were so bad she was unable to open her left eye for two days after the fall.
Mrs Sharman admitted she “didn’t think about the car” at the time.
“About two or three months later, I got a letter and now the bill has risen to £155.
“I had been two hours 10 minutes over the limit. I didn’t intend to do this.
“I went into Morrisons but they said the car park doesn’t belong to them.”
Mrs Sharman’s family wrote to Euro Car Parks and explained she had left her car because she was in A&E.
Granddaughter Amy Garrett, 31, said: “It’s an appalling way to treat my gran.
“She’s only recently lost her husband and now she’s got this to deal with. She can barely afford things at the moment anyway and now she’s been hit with a £155 fine.
“I just wish the company would show some compassion but we’ve had none. You can’t even call someone to speak to a human being.
“When they wrote to us they said gran should have told them about her medical emergency before the time ran out on the car but she was in hospital with head injuries.
“She was hardly in a fit state to explain why she couldn’t drive.”
Euro Car Parks rejected the appeal and said Mrs Sharman should have informed them of the emergency.
They said: “Any medical problems you were experiencing at site on the above date were not reported so no provision could be made, therefore parking charge notice was issued correctly and remains payable.”
Mrs Sharman has been told her case has now been passed to a debt recovery service.
The grandmother-of-nine said: “It’s another slap in the face. I’m on a pension. I have to be so careful.
“I can’t afford this money, I don’t see why I should have to pay this money. I didn’t do this intentionally. It’s making me feel depressed.”
A North Northamptonshire Council spokesman said: “Work has been carried out by Highways to repair paving at this location.”