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MOTHER FINED FOR BREASTFEEDING BABY IN CAR

A MOTHER is facing being fined £85 for stopping her car in Dundee to breastfeed her baby.

Jerricah Watson (19) of Fintry was driving in the city centre two weeks ago when she needed to pull over and feed her son Jaksyn.

She said a parking attendant told her she was allowed to do so while she was parked in a permit holders-only bay before slapping a fine on the front of her car.

“I was driving through the city centre when my 14-week-old baby woke up to be fed,” Jerricah said.

“As I’m breastfeeding and therefore my son is fed on demand, I needed to stop right away.

“Since I was in such a busy area I couldn’t just pull over in the street—I needed to go somewhere private.

“I knew Candle Lane was there, and private, so I stopped there.

“Just after I climbed in the back seat of the car to feed my son a traffic warden came over to me.

“I had my window down so he told me I’m not allowed to park there.

“I asked if it was okay to sit there while I feed my child and he told me ‘yes’.

“He then walked to the front of my car and proceeded to take photos and put a ticket on my car.”

“I got out the car and asked him what he was doing since he had just said it was okay for me to sit there and I said obviously I meant for the whole car, not just me.”

However, she claims that he told her by that point it was too late as the ticket had been issued.

Jerricah continued, “I then asked him why he had not just asked me to move my car rather than immediately put a ticket on it, especially after saying I could sit there.

“He then asked me if I was the driver and I told him I was. He told me he didn’t know I was and thought that there was a different driver.

“Again I asked him why he had not just asked me if I was rather than presuming I wasn’t.

“I feel with the government both locally and nationally trying to encourage mums to breastfeed that it was unfair of the man not to take that into account or even bother to ask me to move or give me a few minutes to feed my child.”

She added that this implied that national car park ticketing company Central Ticketing who issued the ticket do not support this policy.

The penalty issued to her was for £85, or £60 if paid within two weeks.

Central Ticketing said that when letters of appeal are received the clock stops on the time given to pay the penalty notices and complaints are investigated thoroughly.

A spokesman for Central Ticketing said, “We haven’t actually opened her letter of appeal as yet because it’s in our system here.”

He added that if they decided that inappropriate action was taken by the parking attendant the ticket would be cancelled and the parking attendant reprimanded.

It was reported earlier this week that another mother was distraught when she was allegedly asked to leave Tesco in Monifieth for breastfeeding her baby.