I bemoaned age and low fences at the Ringway Centre last week, where Matalan is located.

We had parked near Aldi and wanted to go to Dunelm Mill. The problem was the fence had no pedestrian access except at the far end.

The choices were to climb over, crawl under or walk the considerable distance round. We drove.

Liz Griffiths sympathises. “My brother and I found ourselves in the same predicament. Jumping over was definitely not an option. We are also both of an elderly disposition, although I hate to admit it. We contemplated whether to walk round or risk ducking underneath the fence. I mean really how difficult could it be?

“We decided to duck underneath. Big mistake. I didn’t realise my legs and knees weren’t as supple as I thought they were. It was, to say the least, a very painful exercise but, as luck would have it, we successfully negotiated this limbo-style operation and came out the other side relatively unscathed.

“After visiting Dunelm, we decided it was a much better idea just to walk round rather than risk anybody thinking we were in training for a break-dancing competition.”

Richard Smith appreciated the humour of the situation but warned that people who park and overstay the allotted time at Ringway can be hit with a hefty fine.

“The car park companies are fussy about parking in one place and visiting another,” he says.

Two years ago, readers complained to the Examiner after receiving £90 parking fines for overstaying the then two hour parking limit at the car park. Richard also points out that the whole area of private companies issuing fines is a minefield.

Leading parking ticket expert Barrie Segal, on his site www.appealnow.com , offers advice and says many private parking fines are only enforceable by courts which have, in recent years, taken a dim view of the size of the fines claimed.

However, it’s much better not to get a ticket at all. I called in at Dunelm Mill again the other day – a nice cafe, apart from anything else – and took a photograph of the parking sign outside which now allows two and a half hours. Exceed this and you could land a £100 fine.

I can understand stores and shopping areas wanting to ensure the adjacent parking spaces are used by customers rather than people off to a business meeting or taking the dog for a walk and, to be fair, on Sunday the car parks on both sides of the trading estate were packed.

But two and a half hours is surely long enough for anybody.

If my car was logged on that car park for that length of time I should hope that, instead of issuing a fine, the authorities might organise a search party because I wouldn’t still be there by choice.