Cathy Kinnon wanted to make her dad’s last days as comfortable as possible and bought him a parasol so he could sit in the garden in the sun, but the simple purchase turned into a nightmare.

He was dying of bowel cancer and it was imperative she got the item quickly, so she decided to go an pick it up herself rather than paying for it to be delivered.

Mrs Kinnon, 50, from May Road, Rochester, bought the £13 shade online from the Argos store in Chatham, using its Fast Track system, which allows customers to collect items straight away.

But after parking in the store’s car park in Medway Street, staff kept her waiting 35 minutes before they finally came out with the parasol – earning her a £100 parking fine for overstaying the 15-minute limit.

The notice came a few weeks after the visit – after her father had passed away, and adding to the stress and upset of her loss.

She had already complained to the company about the hassle of her delayed purchase and been given a refund.

The civil servant said: “It was just so stressful.

“We were nursing dad in what turned out to be his final weeks, and the letter came and I had to deal with that too.”

She wrote to Argos to say it should pay the fine as the company had already admitted liability for the lack of Fast Track service, but the retailer absolved itself of responsibility, saying she needed to take the matter up with the parking contractor.

However, after Mrs Kinnon contacted KentOnline's sister paper the Medway Messenger, Argos agreed to pay her parking fine and a cheque for £100 was sent to her earlier this week.

Mrs Kinnon added: “I will pay the parking fine (when the cheque arrives).

“I am very happy the Medway Messenger have managed to sort this out for me.

“When I liaised with Argos, they said it was not their problem.

“The whole situation has been a nightmare, I was losing my dad and then this happened, it’s been so stressful. I can’t thank the paper enough.”

A spokesman for Argos, added: "We apologise that our service has not lived up to expectations in this instance and for any distress caused to Mrs Kinnon.”

He added: “We have now spoken with her directly and resolved the issue.”