Crane left in disabled park for two hours

The supermarket said it was not something done purposefully to block off the disabled parking. Photo / supplied

The manager of PlaceMakers Waiheke has apologised after a crane was left parked in one of the store's disabled parks for two hours.

This comes after a disappointed customer sent a photo of the parked crane to the Herald.

"This is how disabled parking is misused at PlaceMakers on Waiheke Island," the customer said.

When contacted today, store manager Lee Stickland confirmed the crane was in the park for a short time during a licensed building practitioners evening on March 26.

"It stayed in that position for about two hours and was moved as soon as I became aware where it was sitting."

Mr Stickland said three other disabled parks were available to customers throughout this time, and apologised to any effected customers.

"It was not something we did purposefully to block off the disabled parking."

The owner of the crane also apologised and reiterated the fact the crane was only there for a short time.

Late last month a shopper snapped photos of late-model Lamborghini worth $400,000 in a mobility parking space at LynnMall in West Auckland.

The owner, Peters Properties director Gerard Peters, said he left his car there for "a couple of minutes" as he was in a rush.

He said he regretted the decision and understood the parks were allocated for good reason.

Meanwhile, Shortland Street star Ben Mitchell was also snapped using a disabled park at the Countdown supermarket at Takapuna last month.

Mitchell quickly apologised for the indiscretion.

"I did park in a reserved park when I was in a hurry on Saturday morning," he said.

"Although there were plenty of empty disabled spaces available at the time, I absolutely acknowledge that there are many who are far more deserving of those parks than me. Not my finest moment."

Drivers caught misusing mobility parks were fined $150.

A breast screening caravan would be parked at the PlaceMakers Waiheke store for the next three weeks, Mr Stickland said.

While the caravan took up three of the available disabled car parks, the store has created new disabled parks for their customers, on the other side of the entrance.