I PARKED in the car park behind Sainsbury’s when recently visiting a friend in Boscombe.

Then I went to the pay station and found that it was contactless only with no cash option. A couple of days later I parked near the Sandbanks Hotel to have a coffee there with another friend. That pay station had contactless and cash options.

The contactless payment station took roughly a minute and a half to authorise the payment via the card’s contactless icon. The machine in Poole took just 45 seconds to register a ticket with £4 cash for two hours.

I was of the opinion it was supposed to make things easier with contactless only payment.

It is worth remembering during that extra wait for the payment to be authorised, you could be vulnerable if someone is standing behind you whilst you are concentrating on what you are doing.

If I had been an elderly or pregnant motorist at night in Boscombe, they could have been an easy target for a mugger.

MATT BELL

Beckhampton Road, Poole