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Protester sets up living room in shop car park

BBC Michael Moody standing in the car park outside Booths supermarket. He is wearing a coat, a white shirt and green tie. Behind him is a billboard explaining his protests and a set of household shelves.BBC
Michael Moody has created a living room outside Booths supermarket in Windermere

A man has moved a sofa, coffee table and his pet goldfish into supermarket car park to protest against the handling of a parking ticket.

Michael Moody travelled 240 miles from his home in Skegness to Booth's car park in Windermere to stage the protest.

He was handed a county court judgement (CCJ) for not paying the fine, a mistake which has led to him being unable to renew his mortgage.

Car park operator Parkingeye said Mr Moody failed to get in touch with the company and he is now required to settle the matter with the court.

Mr Moody said he acknowledges he was at fault for overstaying, but did not pay the fine because he did not notice the letters sent to him.

"I'm happy to pay the fines and any court costs, the problem is I can't move forward with my life and get a mortgage because of this CCJ in my name," he said.

"That 40 minutes extra in a car park can really change someone's life."

Michael Moody Mr Moody's protest in Windermere. A sign on the side of a van explains the reasons for the protest. In front of the van is a sofa, coffee table and other furniture usually found in a living room.Michael Moody
The living room display consists of a sofa, shelves, coffee tables, a Christmas tree and a pet goldfish

Booths said it had "sympathy with Mr Moody around his mortgage issues and will support his case with both Parkingeye and the debt recovery agency", but added it was unable to set aside his claim against the CCJ.

Mr Moody said he only found out about the CCJ when NatWest rejected his application to renew his two mortgages.

Parkingeye said Mr Moody had correctly received the fine in February 2023 but he failed to respond to "successive rounds of correspondence".

"We can confirm the motorist first got in touch with us on 14 November this year to settle the payment and request that we remove the County Court Judgement," a spokesperson said.

"This would need to be done directly with himself and the County Court and we sent guidance on how to do this on 25 November."

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