A man has decried the “absolutely disgraceful” situation after he received a fine for parking at a closed Tesco.

Hove resident, Matt Burkwood, 43, said he was left frustrated after being issued with a Parking Charge Notice for leaving his car at the Hove Tesco Superstore on a Sunday evening when the shop was shut.

The IT trainer parked at the site on Sunday, January 4, 2026, at 6.52pm – after the store had closed at 4pm.

He said the car park was “completely empty” at the time and that signage did not make clear that motorists were not allowed to park there outside opening hours.

“I checked the signs – they don’t really explain things clearly,” he said. “They just say to validate parking in Tesco.”

Mark was penalised for parking at the Tesco Superstore in Hove (Image: The Argus)

Mr Burkwood said he stayed for around 30 minutes before leaving, but later received a fine from Horizon Parking, which operates the site.

The company said there had been a “failure to validate for the duration of stay”, and that a maximum stay of 15 minutes applies outside trading hours.

However, Mr Burkwood said there was no way to comply with the rules once the store had shut.

“I challenged the fine,” he said. There was no way to validate because the store was closed.

“If I could have paid, I would have. I’m not trying to avoid paying.”

At the Hove Tesco, customers can validate their parking by spending £5 in store and using their receipt – something Mr Burkwood said was impossible outside opening hours.

“It’s a bit strange,” he said. “If the store’s closed and it’s empty, why not allow people to use it?”

The only way to pay for parking is to use these validating machines (Image: The Argus)

He described the situation as “gatekeeping a whole car park for no reason” and added: “It feels like they’re just penalising people for the sake of it.”

Mr Burkwood appealed the charge, arguing that the signage did not explain what to do when the store is closed and that enforcing restrictions in an empty car park made little sense.

But Horizon Parking rejected his appeal on April 13, insisting the signage was clear and complied with British Parking Association rules.

“It really isn’t clear,” Mr Burkwood said.

He then contacted Tesco’s executive customer service team, questioning why strict enforcement was in place outside trading hours and warning it could harm nearby businesses.

“They said enforcement applies outside store hours and didn’t engage beyond that,” he said.

Mark says the signage is not clear about parking out of hours (Image: The Argus)

The dispute continued for several weeks.

On Thursday, April 23 – the day after The Argus had contacted Tesco and Horizon Parking – Tesco confirmed that the charge had been cancelled.

In an email sent on behalf of the supermarket’s executive board, a customer service specialist wrote: “I wanted to let you know that, on this occasion, and this occasion only, I have cancelled your parking fine. I hope this helps.

“As to your other points Mr Burkwood, as I said, it is private property and therefore not subject to other people’s opinions on who can park and when.

“However, in an effort to be fair, I will pass your emails back to the relevant teams in order that your concerns and feedback can be discussed.”

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A stock image of a customer using the validating machine at the Tesco in Hove (Image: The Argus)

Mr Burkwood welcomed the decision but criticised the tone of the response.

“It’s absolutely disgraceful that they are gatekeeping the car park for no reason. They could just set the parking restrictions during store opening hours, surely?

“What is the point in keeping the car park empty outside of store hours?”

Tesco and Horizon Parking were both contacted, but declined to offer a comment.