As everyone who has ever been pregnant knows, those last few weeks before baby arrives are anything but comfortable.
Walking is hard, bending down is pretty much impossible, and all you really want to do is sit down and wait for that flippin’ baby to exit your womb. I, for one, took every shortcut and semi-chance of being somehow remotely comfortable that came my way those last few days.
Which is probably what this nine-month pregnant woman thought too, when she opted to park her car in one of the much-closer-to-the entrance ‘family parking’ spaces outside an Asda store in Reading earlier this week.
However, when the woman, who according to the Daily Mail, is only known as ‘Olivia’, came back out to her car a little while later, she found she had received a fine for using that space. When the 23-year-old went to find the attendant to explain why she had parked in that space, she was abruptly told that she “didn’t count as a parent yet.”
Talking to MailOnline, the heavily pregnant woman explains:
“I feel the situation was dealt with so badly and that in my stage of pregnancy it is unacceptable to expect me to try to climb out of a normal parking bay with cars either side. There were no spaces at all where there was a space next to it otherwise I would have used one of them.”
She has appealed her ticket, and Asda has since apologised for the incident.
A spokesperson from Asda, however, told the newspaper: “Our disclaimers do state the child must be with you in the car to warrant parking in the mother and baby spaces, which is why the lady received a ticket. In terms of the store colleague being rude, I have spoken to the store manager at Lower Earley and he does not recall the incident itself.”
The story has divided mothers on social media in the UK, with some claiming ‘Asda should be ashamed’ but others defending the store.
What do YOU think? Should you be allowed to use family car parking spaces when you are pregnant? Or should they be reserved solely for families with children in tow?
