A father who rushed his four-year-old son to casualty after he cut his face was charged £50 for leaving his car in the hospital car park.

Steven Winterburn drove his son Luke to the Princess Royal Hospital, in Haywards Heath, after the youngster accidentally slashed open his chin.

When the father returned to his vehicle two hours later, hospital chiefs had slapped a £50 fine on the car because he failed to buy a parking ticket.

Mr Winterburn, of Royal George Road, Burgess Hill, said: "When I got there I was very worried about my son, there was a lot of blood and my first priority was to get him seen as soon as possible.

"I only drove because I thought it would be quicker than calling for an ambulance. It never entered my head I would have to pay for parking."

Mr Winterburn waited in the A&E department with his son for two hours while the youngster had his wound glued together and strapped up.

He is expected to be scarred for life.

Mr Winterburn said: "It was quite distressing, so when I returned to the car and saw this document I was absolutely livid.

"The only people who go to the hospital are the sick and injured or people visiting the sick and injured.

"It seems incredibly wrong to me that Mid Sussex NHS Trust is trying to make money out of these people.

"It's like charging the innocent.

"In the end Luke's injury could have been a lot more serious than it was. What about the people who are taken to hospital in a critical condition, will they be charged as well?"

Mr Winterburn has contacted the hospital solicitors to object to the fine.

He has also written to local MP, Nicholas Soames, about the incident.

Mr Winterburn said: "Why in the future should I, or anybody else, consider driving to casualty rather than wait for an ambulance when we are going to be penalised like this?"

A spokesman for Mid Sussex NHS Trust said the trust had introduced the charges of 60p per hour in January but only started enforcing them in March, in order for people to get used to them.

He said: "Each case which is challenged is looked at individually by the solicitors in charge of recovering the fines and in exceptional circumstances, they will look sympathetically on them and waive the fine."