Tesco ends free all day parking

It had to happen sometime, but the gift that just kept giving has finally been taken away!

Tesco’s unofficial all day free parking has been officially stopped, with a three-hour time limit now in place. Violating vehicles will be clamped and only released after a £70 fine is paid.

The car park will be patrolled by wardens and also monitored by CCTV, and as well as the time limits, those parking in disabled spaces must show their blue badges or be clamped.

Those parking in the parent and child buys illegally will also face the same punishment.

It will be welcome news to shoppers who in recent months, particularly over Christmas, struggled to find spaces at peak times due to motorists abusing the system and parking all day to go to work.

Tesco initially announced when it opened that the free parking would be for two hours only, but it was never enforced and opened the door to daily abuse.

This has left the council car park empty next door, denying the tax payers tens of thousands of pounds in lost revenue.