A mother of newborn twins has been left to struggle after she received a £100 parking fine at Teesside Park for parking slightly over the line whilst trying to safely remove her children from the car.
Kelly Kitchen, 36, was forced to park across the bay lines when no parent and child spaces were available, as she needed to fully open both rear doors to get her 12-week-old twins out of their car seats.
The personal assistant, currently on maternity leave, discovered the penalty notice after returning to her Toyota RAV4 following an hour of shopping with her sons Jesse and Joey.
Although she attempted to explain her situation, the enforcement company rejected her appeal against the fine issued on December 5.
The single mum from Stainton explained she had no choice but to park slightly over the line into an empty adjacent space
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"It was absolutely packed and there were no parent and child spaces available," said Kitchen, who needed to access both sides of her vehicle to secure her twins in their double pushchair.
The single mum from Stainton explained she had no choice but to park slightly over the line into an empty adjacent space to safely manoeuvre her sons' bulky car seats during a shopping trip to the retail outlet in Thornaby.
Each of her twin boys requires their car seat to be removed and attached to a buggy frame, which needs full access to both rear car doors.
Kitchen has contacted both Teesside Park management and enforcement company Minster Baywatch multiple times, but has been told the fine stands.
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"No-one seems to be interested. No-one wants to help me, I feel like I am just going round in circles," she said.
The situation is particularly frustrating for Kitchen as a similar incident in a Durham car park had previously resulted in the fine being waived after she explained her circumstances.
However, despite her attempts to appeal the Teesside Park penalty by detailing the challenges of safely removing two infant car seats, the enforcement company has maintained its decision.
"I can't possibly be the only person who has this problem," Kitchen said, expressing concern about the inadequate width of existing parent-child bays, explaining how her car seats are "really bulky".
However, despite her attempts to appeal the Teesside Park penalty by detailing the challenges of safely removing two infant car seats, the enforcement company has maintained its decision (Stock)
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"I never gave it a thought before I had children, but now I just don't know how other people do it," she added.
A spokesperson for Teesside Park defended their parking arrangements following the single mum's complaints.
The spokesman for the retail park said: "Our car park is managed by Minster Baywatch, the policies and systems in place are designed to ensure that there are always spaces available for those who need them.
"For those visiting with small children, we have dedicated parent and child spaces across the car park, and also time restrictions in place in the Retail South car park to ensure as many spaces are available as possible."
