RESIDENTS and visitors in Ramsbottom are being urged to be vigilant when parking their cars after reports that people had unexpectedly been issued with tickets.

Ramsbottom Cllr Ian Bevan said he had received a "raft" of complaints from people who were given tickets, believing they had not done anything wrong.

He said that many people parking on the car parks at the Tesco, Aldi and Morrisons supermarkets in Ramsbottom town centre, had walked into the town centre after shopping and had not realised parking time limits were in force.

Shoppers questioned whether the fines were valid because they were not issued by Bury Council.

However a recent ruling in the Supreme Court has confirmed the ability of private car parks to set time limits and enforce fines for those breaking the rules.

The warning comes after members of Ramsbottom Business Group said parking is a major issue in the town, and a survey about the problem was launched.

Cllr Bevan said: “I understand that parking on council car parks and on-street parking is at a premium in Ramsbottom and as local councillors we are working with the chief executive of Bury Council to address that problem.

"Many residents and visitors are parking in the car parks of the three local supermarkets, and walking into the town centre, often not realising there are car parking time limits.

"As a local councillor, I receive regular complaints from residents and visitors alike who have been fined for overstaying in the car parks of our local supermarkets.

"Many question whether the fines are valid as they are not imposed by the council."

Barry Beavis, a 47-year-old chip shop owner from Chelmsford, took his battle with a car park operator over a fine issued at a retail park to the Supreme Court.

He claimed a £85 fine imposed for overstaying a two-hour parking limit by almost an hour was unfair.

However the Supreme Court ruled that a fine in a private car park was not unfair, and that overstaying penalties are a ‘normal feature of parking contracts’.

The judgment added that fines were beneficial to motorists as they make parking spaces available and prevent car parks from becoming clogged up by long-stay users.