A man has been left fuming after being slapped with an "unfair" parking fine for stopping to check his car for less than five minutes. 

Richard Bown parked on the road outside the Costa Coffee in Broadland Business Park to investigate a noise coming from beneath his car. 

According to the 50-year-old from Blofield, the coffee shop was closed at the time and he was there for just a few minutes with the engine running and the lights on. 

After finding that the car was safe to drive, he left, only to later discover he had been issued a parking fine of £100 - calculated at £20 per minute he was stopped. 

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The fine was issued by National Parking Enforcement Limited, a private firm that is contracted by venues to enforce parking restrictions, in January. 

"The timestamps on the CCTV they provided show I was only there for a couple of minutes and I believe the charge was issued unfairly," Mr Bown said. 

"In my eyes, I acted responsibly, as it would have been dangerous to stop on the carriageway in the dark.

"While I understand the need for people to park in marked parking bays for safety and accessibility, I believe the parking charge is excessive and very unfair."

Mr Bown claims other vehicles park in the area "all the time" and provided National Parking Enforcement Limited with photographs of vans and lorries parked up in a similar way as evidence. 

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He added: "Having spoken to the Costa manager and the managing agent of the land, both agree that this fine is unfair but National Parking is being unfair.

"I have repeatedly asked for my circumstances to be taken into consideration but have been banging my head against a brick wall with this company."

National Parking Enforcement Limited has been contacted for comment.