A SUPERMARKET manager has threatened to call in police after receiving a barrage of abuse from thoughtless shoppers who park in bays for cars of disabled drivers.

A growing number of customers, including mothers with children and pensioners, have thrown verbal abuse at Asda manager Seane Wilkinson as he tried to prevent able-bodied people parking in mobility spaces.

One person threatened to break his legs, while a woman accompanied by her children threatened to get her husband, before promising that Mr Wilkinson would soon be needing a disabled bay.

"The amount of abuse I, my colleagues and some disabled customers face when we politely ask people not to park in these bays unless they have a disabled badge is unbelievable," said Mr Wilkinson, who has managed Darlington's Whinfield store for four years.

"It is definitely getting worse. I place polite notices on the cars, and have started to take down registration numbers in case there is any comeback, but it has reached such a point that I will be reporting any serious cases of abuse or threats to police."

Mr Wilkinson said the special bays, which were larger and closer to the store's entrance, were painted blue and had new signs erected to the side of them.

"All we are asking for is a little moral understanding of other people's needs," said Mr Wilkinson.

"I am asking people to think of those who need the spaces most. Don't be selfish."

Inspector Billy Hugill, of Darlington police, said: "Nobody should have to put up with abuse like that when they are just trying to do their job.

"We support the positive action taken by the store and, if any incidents are reported to us, we will take due action."

A national spokeswoman for Morrison's supermarket said it, too, was making improvements to all its stores to ensure customers realised the specified bays were for the disabled.

But she admitted that some customers had been very unpleasant to staff implementing the regulations.

Gordon Pybus, chairman of Darlington Association on Disability, urged customers to be more considerate.

He said: "This is a real problem now and I think the police should be involved.

"People are just too lazy to walk that extra 20 yards, but they should be grateful that they can walk 20 yards. Don't they realise they could be preventing disabled people from shopping?"