SHOPPERS in Bolton last night backed a move by supermarket giant, Asda, to fine drivers £60 for parking in disabled or parent and child spaces when they have no right to.

The scheme, trialled at six of the company's stores last year, will be rolled out nationwide on Monday.

It will affect the Asda stores in Astley Bridge and Farnworth from February 25, but not Middlebrook or Burnden stores where the company does not exclusively own the carparks.

Asda will donate profits from the fines to baby charity Tommy's and the Motability car scheme for the disabled.

Mother-of-two Debra Nuttall backed the move as she finished shopping at the Astley Bridge store in Moss Bank Way store yesterday (thurs) afternoon with her three-year-old son Thomas and 12-month-old daughter Sally.

"I totally agree with it. It's very frustrating. One woman even cut in front of me once just as I was about to park and stole my space," said Mrs Nuttall from Sharples.

Disabled Ilene Davies, aged 65, was at the store shopping with her husband Barry, aged 67, who need the extra space to allow them to get the wheelchair out of the car.

Mrs Davies said: "It's about time. There have been so many times when we have not been able to park."

Mr Davies added: "I think it's the right thing to do. In fact I think they should increase the fine."

But Blue Badge holder Frank Stafford, aged 83, from Astley Bridge, said although he did not agree with people using the spaces if they did not have the right, he thought a fine was too harsh.

"I think it works as it is. I don't think there should be fines," he said.

The trial in the Liverpool area caused a 60 per cent increase in the number of parking spaces available for disabled drivers and parents with young children.

Asda said the penalty system followed its attempt to tackle the problem constructively in the past. It will roll out the fines to all Asda food stores where it owns the car park.

The retailer's customer service manager Paul Hedley said signs would alert drivers to the potential fines.

"At Asda we have decided to take a stand to keep specialised parking spaces available to those customers that need them," he said.

"Most customers using these bays without good reason don't realise their actions impact on people that rely on them to do their weekly shop."

Priority parking spaces are reserved for disabled customers with a blue badge in their cars and for parents travelling with a child under 12.

Brenda Trigance-Clark, who has worked as a voluntary consultant for Bolton Council on disabled issues, said: "I am delighted. It's about time they did it. The signs are there for all to see."

Ms Trigance-Clarke, aged 58, has been a registered blue badge holder since 1979 when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.