A PADGATE woman who was fined for overstaying her car in Riverside Retail Park by 23 minutes because she was breastfeeding her baby is threatening to take legal action.

Julie Buigues-Gardner attended a breastfeeding awareness event at Bru Cafe in June before leaving around 40 minutes before the car park limit of three hours was up.

On the way back to her car, her son, Jacob, who was four months old at the time, became unsettled and so she made the decision to breastfeed him in the car.

As a result, she exceeded the parking limit and received a parking fine of £60 in the post, shortly after.

After having an appeal rejected, the fine was raised to £100, which has now been paid but Mrs Buigues-Gardner is still hopeful of the fine being overturned.

"My baby needed to be breast fed so I made the decision to feed him in the car," she said.

"I have found the whole process of receiving the charge, appealing and having my concerns dismissed as demoralising and demeaning - it has caused a lot of distress.

"We are trying to clear the fine but it is still ongoing and we are looking to take them to court."

Mrs Buigues-Gardner and her husband, Lee, have claimed that UK Parking Control Ltd have said that 'breastfeeding a child, does not allow you to stay longer' and have been unhappy with the co-operation received.

Advice has been sought from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, as well as the Citizens Advice Bureau, though anything is yet to prevail.

"I am not sure what will happen but we are going to carry on trying to have the fine wiped off, we don't think it is right that we got it," said Mr Buigues-Gardner.

"Hopefully they do realise but we are just going to have to wait and see."

UK Parking Control Ltd have not commented on the matter.