A 15-minute shopping trip ended with a £100 fine for one Kidderminster woman who was slapped with a ticket for having her back wheel slightly over the parking bay.

Carol Hinett said she was appalled to find the fine ticket stuck to the window of her black Saab when she returned from a brief visit to Curry’s in Kidderminster’s Crossley Retail Park last Thursday.

She explained her back near-side wheel had only been about an inch over the white line, adding she did not feel it warranted a penalty.

“I had popped into Curry’s to pick up something for my TV – I was only in the store for 15 minutes,” she said. “When I came out on to the carpark I had a ticket on my car because my near-side rear wheel was parked about an inch over the line. I was absolutely appalled.

“If I had over stayed my two hours ,then I would understand but just because my rear wheel was over the line? What if I was forced to park like that because the other driver hadn’t left enough space?

“I was only in there for a few minutes so I think it was over zealous.”

She said issuing fines for parking outside the bays would put people off shopping at the retail park, which has free parking for up to two hours, at a time when the town needed to attract more shoppers.

“I spent £400 in Curry’s [the day before I was fined] and so to have a fine for £100 is just not on,” she said. “I think it’s just appalling when people want shoppers to come into the town and shop.”

A spokesman from Excel Parking Services Limited, which issued the fine, said they were unable to provide an “objective response” as they were carrying out further enquiries, which were expected to be completed in the next few days, He added: “Signs at the Crossley Retail Park do inform motorists to park correctly in marked bays.

Inappropriate parking can lead to adjacent bays being unavailable or awkward to use by other car park users.”

He said Ms Hinett had the option to appeal against the fine.