Shopper fined for 3-hour jam at retail park

A SHOPPER who was stuck in a queue as she tried to leave a gridlocked car park was fined £70 for overstaying the time limit.

Dionne Russell, 46, was trapped in the retail park as she tried to make her way home after shopping for 40 minutes.

But the queue of traffic was so bad, it tipped her over the three-hour limit for parking there – which meant she got an automatic fine through the post.

Miss Russell, from Coventry, fell foul of numberplate recognition cameras used to monitor how long drivers stay in the car park, which clocked her car stuck in traffic as she was leaving the retail park.

The congestion that day was particularly bad because of roadworks and a broken down car on a ring road.

The £70 fine came through the post 11 days later, but Miss Russell claims that G24, the company that manages the car park, refused to listen to her when she complained.

She said: ‘I think companies like this are just interested in making money.’

A spokesman for G24 said: ‘We will have to wait for the appeal to come through, so I couldn’t pass comment yet.’