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A Shepway shopkeeper was fined for parking in a lay-by, on land she owns reports Metro.co.uk.

The website reported that Sally Robinson a 52-year-old grandmother claimed she had been using the privately owned lay-by next to her shop in Lydd without any problems for 25 years.

But she had to contact a solicitor when Shepway District Council put down yellow lines and slapped a ticket on her Vauxhall Corsa.

She was told by council officers that 'only the soil under the road' belongs to her, so now she plans to rip up the tarmac to make sure she does not get any more penalty charges.

The council claimed it owned the land, but Land Registry documents proved the land belonged to Mrs Robinson.

The council wrote back saying: 'Although you may hold the freehold title to the land, this only extends to the subsoil under the highway.'

The website reported Mrs Robinson as saying: 'This is absolutely ridiculous. I'll fight this to the end, and if they don't see sense I'll rip up the tarmac myself. I'll just have dirt there and I can have my parking space back and not get any fines.

'I find the whole thing absurd. What will they do next – place a flag in my shop and try and take that over?'

The district council have cancelled the two parking tickets and will not issue further penalty notices until the matter is resolved.

Shepway District Council said in a statement: "A highway is a right of way over which the public has a right to pass and re-pass. This lay-by appears to be part of the highway. It’s been surfaced, there is a pavement and kerbstones and signs of repair work having been carried out.

"Quite often the land under a road or pavement is not owned by the highway authority. Sometimes, the land can be dedicated to the highway authority by the owner. If the land has been used as a highway for more than 20 years there is a legally assumed ‘intention to dedicate’.

"As Shepway Council is not a highway authority we will be checking the issue of ownership with Kent Highways and try and find out when this road was adopted.

"Until this is sorted no further parking tickets will be issued for parking in this lay-by. The two tickets already issued have been cancelled."