Asda has begun its new scheme to penalise shoppers who are found abusing priority parking spaces at its stores nationwide .
The retailer will now begin handing out £40 fines to drivers who park in disabled bays without displaying a blue badge and for those who take up mother and baby spaces without being accompanied by young children.
The new scheme was yesterday introduced at an Asda store in Park Royal, North-West London, where special parking wardens were trying to enforce the scheme ahead of its nationwide roll out.
Asda first tested the scheme at its Merseyside stores, which instantly showed results as the number of free priority parking spaces rose by 60 per cent.
The Wal-Mart owned supermarket said parking cheats will first be asked to move and those who refuse or seriously abuse the system will face a £40 fine, although Asda stressed a fine would only be used as a last resort .
“This is not about attendants hiding in bushes…it’s about being fair and using a common sense approach,” commented Asda spokesman Paul Hedley.
He added that the since the Liverpool trial, stores in the area were already averaging one ticket per store per week.
Profits gained from the fine scheme will be donated to baby charity Tommy’s and the Motability car scheme for the disabled.
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