The Asda store in Lewis Hamilton's home town of Stevenage has upset a disabled couple by 'reserving' a prime parking space for the F1 ace.

Blue badge-holders Adrian Emery and Sandra Batteye said they were unable to find a disabled spot and had to park "halfway up the car park" even though Hamilton's space near the store entrance was empty.

Asda told a local paper that reserving the bay was "just a bit of fun" to celebrate a "local hero". But regular customer Emery thought putting barricades around the space so no one but Hamilton could use it was stretching the joke too far. "We knew Lewis wouldn't be shopping there then as it was the Italian Grand Prix, so what were the management thinking?"

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