AN irate driver has described car parking at an Asda “ludicrous” after he was given a £70 fine.

Dugald Munro, 61, received a ticket at the Brighton Marina supermarket car park after parking in the early hours of a Sunday to walk his dogs.

The Hollingdean man, who said he has been using the car park for ten years, claims he was unaware that parking was prohibited overnight at the weekend.

He is now demanding that Asda scraps the rule or. failing that, install better signposting so people can understand the rules.

Mr Munro said: “I got a letter and when I opened it, there was a parking fine for £70 for parking in the Asda Marina car park on a Sunday morning when the shop was not open.

“I have done this on and off for years as I take my wife to work and I was unaware that you could not park there out of hours.

“How come it is only now, after hundreds of visits by myself, that I have now been fined? How many other people have been caught out by this?”

Drivers are allowed three hours free parking if they are shopping in the Asda store. However, no parking is allowed from 10.30pm on Saturday to 10am and from 5.30pm on Sunday to 6.30am on Monday.

Mr Munro said: “There is a sign on the way in but unless you stop your car to read it, you cannot understand what it says.”

In a plea to the supermarket giant, he said: “Get rid of the rule.”

ParkingEye, the parking company which issued the fine has since written to Mr Munro telling him the fine has been waived.

A ParkingEye spokesman said: “The terms and conditions of this car park state that there is no parking outside of store operating hours and was implemented due to ongoing antisocial behaviour. The car park should only be used by genuine customers during store opening hours.”

An Asda spokesman said: “Following feedback from residents we implemented cameras to prevent our marina store car park from being misused but would like to reassure our customers they can still park there free for up to three hours while the store is open. There is clear signage across the car park and we would like to thank the majority of our customers who use it responsibly.’’