SHOPPERS have been warned not to fall foul of changes to parking rules at a town centre supermarket.

Customers of Lidl used to be able to park at the Wood Street store for shopping and leave the site to head into the town centre but, after a recent change in parking restrictions, customers now have 90 minutes to shop and face a £90 fine if they leave the site, reduced to £50 if paid within two weeks.

John Kerswell, 67, of Taunton, said Lidl should be advertising the change more prominently to stop people being caught out.

He said: “I needed some money in town after my shopping, but I was told if I left the site I’d be fined.

“The change should be advertised more – lots of people are going to get caught out and it’s really bad customer service. They shouldn’t be punishing people after the act – they should let them know beforehand.”

Mr Kerswell said he had raised his concerns with supermarket staff.

Lidl says it used to offer free parking for town centre shoppers, but had to make the change due to “abuse and overcrowding”.

A spokesman said: “It’s important that our customers are given priority and unfortunately we’ve received a deluge of complaints that they’ve been unable to park.

“To tackle the issue, a security guard will provide daily operation of the car park.”

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