A HOLT man says he will gladly see the parking operators of the Cradle Bridge Retail Park in Trowbridge in court as he refuses to pay its ‘unjust’ £150 fine.

Brian Cook, of The Street, parked his car in the parking spaces on the right-hand side of the M&S Foodhall and went to have a look at the new store back in July.

The 84-year-old, who said there were no clear signs that he had to get a ticket, as there was a sign saying Three hours, Free parking, then received a £48 fine a few weeks later from Smart Parking, which manages the 125-space car park at the retail park.

Mr Cook refused to pay the fine and every month since then, he has received a letter from Debt Recovery saying he must pay the charge, now $150, something he says he will not do.

“I am quite happy to go to a small claims court with them. This is such an unjust system and I don’t frighten easily,” he said.

“If they want to take me to court, they will have to send me a letter to make this happen but I am fully prepared for that.

“All of this must have done M&S a whole heap of harm, they must be livid. So many people said they were staying away from the place because of Smart Parking.

“I have received a letter every month from the debt collection agency but I refuse to pay it. One thing that you notice from the letters is that they are quite rude too. You can never speak to someone, it always has to be done in writing which is a nuisance.

“If their system was fair, then they would not have scrapped that rule, in mid-October, where you had to get a ticket, even though it was three hours of free parking.”

M&S Foodhall and Toby Carvery, whose customers have both been hit by parking fines, are tenants and have no control over the parking. In December, site owner Mark Upton, a director of KDL Ltd, said he was committed to rectifying the situation.

Smart Parking were asked to comment on Mr Cook’s views but did not come back to the Wiltshire Times by the time the paper went to press.