PARKING stay penalties imposed on a 90-year-old who found himself inundated with overstay fines, despite him being a blue badge holder, have finally been withdrawn.

Thomas Wilson from Gwernymynydd, near Mold, received notifications of several parking fines totalling more than £400 from a private car parking management company in recent weeks for overstaying in Aldi car parks.

Mr Wilson, who is disabled and whose wife is blind, is usually allowed more than three hours of car parking wherever he goes.

The company Parking Eye manages Aldi’s car parks at their Mold and Buckley stores, where Mr Wilson does the vast majority of his shopping.

While Parking Eye does stipulate on its website that blue badge holders do not have the same privileges as they do when they park for longer times on public land, Mr Wilson says at his age he rarely, if ever, uses the internet.

Parking Eye’s website also states that if the landowner is happy to allow blue badge holders to park for three hours or longer, then the company is happy to withdraw the fines.

Mr Wilson, who served in Italy in the Second World War, said: ‘’I keep getting these letters through my door and I don’t know why.

“I’ve spoken to the managers at Aldi in Buckley and Mold and they are happy for me to park for longer than the allotted time.

‘’It is a lot of money and it is really concerning for both me and my wife, and I want to raise awareness of it to warn people in advance, so they don’t have to go through something similar.

‘’I’ve tried ringing them but can’t get through to anyone or get them to help me.’’

An Aldi spokesman said: “If Mr Wilson would like to get in touch with our customer services team, they would be happy to register him for an extended parking allowance.

“We’ve reviewed his case and will cancel the notices now we’re aware of the circumstances.”

A spokesmanfor Parking Eye said: “We always encourage motorists to appeal if there are mitigating circumstances and instructions about how to do this are detailed on all communication and on our website.

“The parking charge notices have been cancelled.”