Facebook vigilantes who have taken to social media to name and shame people parking badly in north-east towns have been branded “bullies” by their targets.
The pages, which began in Peterhead and quickly spread to neighbouring Fraserburgh, encourage locals to snap pictures of badly-parked vehicles and their number plates.
Thousands of people have “liked” the pages, but now victims of the campaign have hit out at what they describe as cyber bullying.
The row has emerged only days after a drunk shaming website encouraged photographers to target young revellers in the north-east then post their pictures online in return for a £50 bounty.
A photograph of Kimberley Lawrence’s white Mini parked in Mintlaw is among those highlighted on the Bad Parking in Peterhead page – despite a request to have it removed.
Miss Lawrence told the Press and Journal she had become the target of online abuse after taking her grandfather on a medical mercy mission.
She said: “The picture was taken at 5.50am when I was taking my granddad to hospital for surgery. We just nipped into the shop for a minute.
“It frustrates me when people are inconsiderate parkers, but there was honestly no one there to be inconsiderate towards – apart from this person who took the picture.
“The site frustrates me – these people have nothing better to do with their time than get high and mighty. They should focus on something more important.”
She said she had complained about the image but the site’s administrator, who remains anonymous, had refused to pull it down.
Another driver echoed Miss Lawrence’s concerns after a picture of her car parked outside Home Bargains in Peterhead appeared on the site.
The driver wrote: “Actually I was taking my mother in to shop who is in the middle of getting both hips replaced. Needed to get as close as possible as she can hardly walk.
“This site can obviously cause unnecessary trouble. People would be best to spend their time on more important issues that the world throws at us.”
Fears have also been raised about the amount of information which could be harvested from a number plate.
However, last night the user who manages Bad Parking in Peterhead described the site as “an entertainment page for most.”
The spokesman said: “People parking on the corner of junctions, double yellows or disabled bays with no blue badge etc really don’t have a case for complaint.”
And the administrator of Broch Bad Parking had a similar message: “Don’t park badly and no photos of their cars will be shamed on this site.”
Fraserburgh councillor Brian Topping, who also chairs the local safety group, said parking was a problem in the town – but warned there were better ways to combat it.
He said: “I fully appreciate why people do it, it’s frustration. It’s very well naming and shaming but that’s not going to get people charged or fined by the police.
“Folk have got to be careful with what they put on Facebook, people sometimes don’t know all the facts.
“People should report inconsiderate and dangerous parking – if the police don’t know they can’t do anything about it.”
A spokesman for Police Scotland said: “If any members of the public have concerns about parking in their area, we encourage them to contact Police Scotland on 101 so appropriate action can be taken.”
Last week the Press and Journal exposed an English web entrepreneur who was offering £50 rewards for humiliating pictures of drunk people in Aberdeen, Peterhead, Banff and Macduff.
The Caught Drunk brand has now been re-launched online with a link so people can ask for pictures to be removed.