A mum was handed a £100 a parking fine after stopping in a pub car park to feed her baby as he screamed in hunger.
Emily Mason was driving through Gloucestershire when her four-month-old son Oakley began screaming in the car.
The mum-of-four pulled into the Norwood Arms in Cheltenham for safety and managed to feed her baby in the car park.
But she was shocked when she was hit with a £100 fine from Britannia Parking which manages the car park on behalf of the pub and its owner Greene King brewery, reports Gloucestershire Live.
Emily, from Cheltenham, said: “Oakley needed feeding and he was really screaming. I pulled into the car park to feed him but also as a safety measure.
“A screaming baby in a car is incredibly distracting. It can be a real risk to carry on driving if you’re distracted so it wasn’t just me trying to calm him down.
"I was trying to make sure I was driving safely.”
The parking management company allows people a ten minute grace period which can be used to pick up and drop off for example.
But it took a hard line with Emily who claims she overstayed by three minutes during her emergency.
She said: “I was there for 13 minutes, just three minutes over. I paid the fine, which was £60 if I paid it within two weeks, but appealed.”
Britannia Parking confirmed the motorist has been given a full refund but it initially appeared unmoved by Emily's appeal.
In a written response to her claim, it said: “We have considered your appeal and comments you have made in conjunction with any evidence you have provided and the photographs we have on record.
“The Parking Charge Notice was issued to your vehicle because a valid ticket was not purchased.
"It is the driver's responsibility to ensure that they have read and understood the terms and conditions for using the car park."
The letter went on to point out that the company gives motorists a ten minute consideration period on arrival which is double the time recommended by the BPA.
It added: “By leaving your vehicle in the car park without a valid ticket you have broken the terms and conditions and therefore we believe the Parking Charge Notice to be valid and correctly issued.”
Emily said she understood why the pub needs to ensure its car park does not fill up with drivers using it to shop elsewhere but feels Britannia Parking could "use a bit more discretion."
She said: “I’d like them to think a bit more why people might have gone over the ten minutes by a short while.”
A spokesman for Brittania Parking said: “Given the circumstances, the motorist has been given a full refund with the parking charge notice cancelled.”
Greene King brewery confirmed it has asked for the ticket to be cancelled.
A spokesperson said: “We have asked Britannia to cancel the ticket in question.
“We instil a parking charge as some of the community wish to use the car park for access to other businesses and we want to ensure we give our guests priority of parking.
“A small charge is installed, but if you eat or drink in the pub it is refunded from the bill and guests can register their number plate on the tablet.”
Emily was thrilled at the result and applauded the decision.
