How common abusing parent spaces is in car parks - and how much it could cost you

A snapshot revealed just how often people are willing to break the rules and risk an expensive penalty

More than 70 per cent of drivers have seen parent and child spaces outside supermarkets being misused, according to a survey by confused.com.

And one in 10 drivers admit to abusing the car park spaces set aside for those with young children.

Parking in a designated space is not illegal, but as they are private car parks you can be hit with a large penalty - effectively a parking ticket issued by a private firm.

Will Rider, reporter with KentLive, decided to stake out a car park to find out how common breaching the rules is.

He spent some time at the busy Sainsbury’s on Linden Park Road in Tunbridge Wells, one of the town’s main supermarkets.

Will said: "I spent an hour outside the store on a Wednesday afternoon to find out how well shoppers are sticking to the rules. As I arrived, the car park was already fairly busy."

Will said the patrolled car park, managed by Horizon Parking, has a number of signs warning drivers they could be hit with a £70 penalty if they abuse parking rules - including misusing parent and child or disabled bays.

The car park has two dozen spaces set aside for parents with children.

Will said the parent and child spaces were half full when he arrived - while the rest of the car park was up to 90 per cent occupied.

He said: "What became instantly clear was how useful the parent-child spaces can be. Offering far more than just a shorter walk to the entrance, the extra room in between each space allows for the doors to be fully opened and car seats to be put in and taken out.

"Struggling with a car seat can be enough trouble without having to worry about denting the vehicle tucked in next to you.

"It did not take long to spot a guilty party, however. I clocked a driver walking fairly hurriedly back to his SUV, which was parked in a parent-child space.

"Let alone not having a child under 12, there was no child there at all. He’d clearly popped in for a quick shop and didn’t want to hang around looking for a normal space.

"It was also fascinating to watch drivers’ moral compasses calculating in real time. At least half-a-dozen times, cars slowed down when they spotted a vacant parent-child space before deciding to carry on their hunt for a slot they were eligible for.

"Not everyone was that patient though and, on a couple of occasions, the driver gave up and swung into the space and headed in to shop.

"As for how diligently the staff enforce the rules will no doubt depend on each store but, if this supermarket snapshot is anything to go by, the car park managers will be making a pretty penny."