TWO friends and myself drove into Bournemouth on a rare night out for another friend's birthday gathering.

We parked at the Cotlands car park in town and found a pay station and we quickly learnt that this particular one only accepted card and contactless payments. There was no option to use cash.

After fumbling about, we found the contactless payment mark and used it, and something that normally would have taken just 30 seconds to one minute, took at least five minutes.

I found that there other pay stations nearby with the option to use cash but it wasn't clear at the time.

Bearing in mind it was pretty dark that evening and difficult to see, had a woman or elderly person been on their own in a similar scenario, they would have been well within their rights to feel vulnerable and at risk.

Perhaps the parking station operators might like to ponder these observations and consider the wider consequences rather than just getting everyone to go digital for the sake of their convenience.

MATT BELL, Sterte Road, Poole