A DEFIANT pensioner has vowed to fight a £100 fine after she was punished for parking on an estate in Hartley Wintney.

Enid Tait, 74, said that there are not enough warning signs or visitor spaces in the St Mary’s Park development, in Dilly Lane.

She made the short trip from her home in Winchat Close to the estate on Saturday, February 8, to see her daughter. But when she returned to her car in Hatts Close, she found that she had received a parking ticket.

Mrs Tait said: “It was a dark and rainy night, and I could not see any signs or notices or double yellow lines saying that I could not park there.

“I am an OAP and I feel like I’m being bullied. It has got to the point where I cannot go to my daughter’s house because I cannot find anywhere to park. I can’t afford to keep paying fines.”

Mrs Tait said she has been in touch with Barratt Homes, which built the estate, to complain about the lack of visitor spaces. She added that she does not intend to pay the fine and has lodged an appeal with POPLA, an independent parking resolution service.

The part of the estate where she was caught out is managed by OM Property Management, part of Peverel Group, based in New Milton, Hampshire.

Councillor Dorothy Harvey, chairman of Hartley Wintney Parish Council, said that she attended a meeting between residents and the property management company three months ago to discuss parking issues.

In a statement, OM Property Management said that it imposed parking conditions following complaints from residents, and that they are outlined on signs that are “clearly displayed on lampposts” around the estate.

It added: “As St Mary’s Park property manager, it is our role to balance the needs of customers with requirements set out in the lease or, in the case of the site’s freehold properties, the transfer document. The allocation of parking spaces and the requirement to keep the access road free of parked vehicles, especially for emergency vehicles, is clearly defined by these documents.”