Bispham charity shop volunteer's shock after being handed parking ticket by 'over zealous' warden

But she was shocked when she was handed a ticket for doing just that – and told she should never have been parking there in the first place.

Elaine, who is one of the voluntary staff at the Trinity Hospice shop on Bispham Road, Bispham, says the warden who handed her the ticket was over zealous and could have at least given her a warning about not doing it again.

Elaine, 70, of Sunderland Avenue, Cleveleys, said: “I have volunteered at the charity shop for three years and never for one moment thought there was a problem.

“I’d always presumed the forecourt belonged to the shop and that it was private land, I thought we were allowed to park there.

“The car is not blocking the pavement so there is no obvious problem.

“But it seems that the shop doesn’t own the land and you’re not supposed to park there.

“If I had known this I would obviously not have done it, but I was given no chance to explain – the traffic warden was really abrupt.”

Elaine was so unhappy about the matter she considered not paying the £35 fine and contesting the issue, but she added: “They could have made me pay more if I didn’t sort it out, so reluctantly I paid it.

“My story could act as a warning to others, because a lot of people could be caught out by this.

“But the unfair thing is that I see other people parking up in a similar way all the time, and they don’t seem to get any parking tickets.”

Blackpool Council, which oversees street parking issues, says it is looking into the circumstances of the case.