A BOURNEMOUTH councillor who was fined for spending too long in a supermarket car park is calling on the firm to change its parking signs.

Cllr Roger West successfully appealed against the £45 penalty charge notice he received after parking in the Lidl car park in Wimborne Road, Winton.

But he was concerned to discover the supermarket chain starts its 90-minute free parking period from the moment customers enter the car park and not when they manage to find a space.

Lidl’s Winton car park is very heavily used and it is not uncommon for customers to wait in their cars until a parking space becomes vacant.

Cllr West, a Liberal Democrat councillor for Redhill and Northbourne, said he originally reversed the car into a space but then had to move so they could access the boot.

“It took a lot of time to move the car and load the shopping because I am recovering from a serious operation and am not very active,” he said.

“But we did not leave the car park to do any other shopping so I was shocked to get a fine through the post.”

He claimed the signs referring to “90 minutes free parking” were potentially misleading.

He said: “The 90 minutes doesn’t refer to the time parked but in effect refers to the time between entering the car park and exiting it, which I consider a different thing altogether.”

In a statement Lidl said: “In a small number of our store car parks, we have different systems in place to manage the availability of car parking spaces to ensure the car park is being used appropriately and that our customers take priority.

“To help manage the popularity of our Winton store we recently submitted plans to extend our car park, which were unfortunately refused.

“We remain keen to find a solution so that we can continue to improve the customer experience.”

It added any Lidl customers who received a fine should provide them with proof of purchase so they can appeal the ticket on their behalf.