Darent Valley Hospital have reversed their decision to triple parking charges, admitting they may have jumped the gun.

An extra 107 spaces are available at the highly congested hospital from today (March 2) to ease parking problems.

The upgrades have been funded entirely by private company VINCI Park, who were considering recovering their costs through hikes in parking charges.

A Dartford and Gravesham NHS trust spokesman said: “Car parking prices are not increasing at this moment in time.”

He admitted the trust were premature to put up signs on machines which said parking for 24 hours would go up 200 per cent - from £5 to £15.

The signs were taken down on Friday morning after some public backlash.

A post by Dave Smith on a local Facebook page on Thursday February 26 amassed hundreds of comments, as people reacted to the proposed increase.

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The trust spokesman said: “The hospital has gained in popularity and we have seen a steady increase in the number of people using its services and subsequently, the demand for parking space has increased significantly."

He added: “Car parking charges are under review at this time but have not been finalised.

“Discussions with the trust’s governors, patients and the local authorities show that there is a strongly held view that the car parking capacity must be increased as an absolute priority.”

The trust is yet to make a decision on parking costs, but recommends patients and visitors take public transport where possible.

Currently, parking stays at its original prices - £1 for a one-hour stay, £2 for 1-2 hours, £3 for 2-3 hours, £4 for 3-4 hours and £5 for up to 24 hours.