A commuter was left dumfounded after he was fined for leaving his car in a supermarket car park despite there being no way for him to pay.

Rick Martin was sent the £70 charge after parking his car at the New Eltham Co-op in Footscray Road, which is run by operator Horizon, last month.

The dad, from Ashford in Kent, said that he had left his car there half a dozen times over the last year while he worked in London with no issues.

People who wanted to park up for the whole day typically had to pay around £5, while short stay shop customers could park for free for up to an hour.

After parking on October 30, he took a picture of the Horizon sign to check the payment system was unchanged from when he last stopped at the Co-op.

He then proceeded to New Eltham train station to catch his train into the city.

It was only after he was on the train that he realised the car park was no longer listed on the Horizon app, meaning he could not pay for his space.

Rick said that he called up both the supermarket and the car park operator to explain the problem, but both companies told him there was nothing they could do to help.

When he returned to his car, he had been slapped with a £70 fine, a charge he is now trying to appeal.

“If you can’t use the car park, all they needed to do was remove the sign off the wall,” he explained.

“When I say it’s a scam, I don’t think anyone has maliciously gone out to get as many car parking fines as they can.

“I think it’s a series of mistakes that mean you can essentially get trapped into a parking fine.”

The Horizon sign telling commuters they could pay to park was still up last month despite the car park having been removed from the payment appThe Horizon sign telling commuters they could pay to park was still up last month despite the car park having been removed from the payment app (Image: Rick Martin)

Rick, who is a Co-op member and used to work as a shelf-stacker for the chain in his youth, added that he wanted the fine removed, but was also worried that other people might also have been caught out.

“I’m never going to shop with them again because I think they are responsible for what has happened,” he said.

After being asked for a response by the News Shopper, the Co-op confirmed that it intends to cancel Mr Martin’s fine.

The supermarket claimed that the “confusion” was caused after a section of the car park was sold to a developer to build new homes.

This is why the remaining spaces were taken off the Horizon app and reserved for short stay customers only.

A Co-op spokesperson added: "We have instructed our car park operator to urgently check the payment signage to ensure everything is clear for customers who make use of the parking facility.”

Horizon has been approached for a response.