FURIOUS shoppers say they've been slapped with £150 Parking fines - despite complying with the rules.

A number of people have reported receiving penalty notices from De Vere Parking Services, which put up signs in Broadstone's Grange Road car park in December stating shoppers could only park for free if visiting the shops listed.

But angry motorists say they have received fines even though they visited one or more of the specified stores in The Broadway.

Tina Priest, who works for Hair on Broadway, said: "I parked there for an hour and went to three of the shops and I had a penalty notice demanding £150 or, if I paid within 14 days, it would be reduced to £70.

"I've come across seven people who've had the same thing."

David Theobold, 59, from Corfe Mullen, was also caught out after visiting Motoring World, one of the shops listed on the signs, despite having a till receipt.

He said: "My wife went to get some oil for her car. She went to the motoring shop but didn't know which one to get so I went two days later and parked in the same place.

"I bought some oil from the motoring shop and we had two fines for illegally parking round the back."

A spokesman for N&J Lines Newsagents, one of the listed shops, responded on behalf of De Vere and said the five stores renting the parking space had agreed with the landlord to restrict the car park to their own customers after problems with double parking.

He said they had employed De Vere's services to control the area and that council car parks and free roadside parking were available in the area for those wanting to shop elsewhere.

He added: "It is inevitable that with the introduction of new parking restrictions, some residents are unhappy. We very much regret the obvious distress this has caused to some.

"We have only tried to give accessible parking to our customers and anyone who feels they have been fined incorrectly must contact De Vere Parking Services as we have no control over any tickets which have been issued."

But Annette Brooke, MP for Mid Dorset and North Poole, and a Broadstone resident, said she was appalled by the scheme and had been contacted by an 80-year-old woman who had received a fine.

She added she had written to De Vere asking for a meeting with the company, the landlord and shop managers to try to work out a better solution.

First published: February 2