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Asda has defended its decision to trial penalty fines for drivers who park in bays reserved for its disabled customers and those with young families.

The supermarket group announced plans to issue the fines earlier this week as part of a trial across six Asda stores in Merseyside.

During the trial local parking attendants will be patrolling car parks at the relevant stores and issuing £60 penalties to those who park in a disabled bay without displaying the appropriate blue badge.

Motorists who abuse the use of parking spaces designed for shoppers who are accompanied by young children will also be penalised.

Commenting on the plans Asda spokesman Owen Hickey told BBC1's Breakfast programme that the retailer felt "obliged" to do something about the problem.

"We have done extensive listening groups over the last year with our customers and we are being told loud and clear from the general public that we need to protect these bays for the interests of our customers," he insisted.

Mr Hickey said that the parking spots in question were deliberately placed in front of Asda's supermarkets to assist disabled people and those with families.

He added that since the beginning of the trial "very few people" had incurred a fine for flouting the parking rules, suggesting that drivers were taking warnings on board.

The Asda spokesman also stressed that the supermarket chain would operate the trial for as long as it deemed necessary and would then take feedback from customers to determine whether the scheme should be rolled out across the country.