Last week, I was just pulling up outside my local supermarket when a bulging hulk of a woman with two podgy clones in tow told me to remove my vehicle from 'her' spot.

Apparently I had parked in a space reserved for mothers with children, an inane concept which I have only recently had the misfortune to be made aware of.

Now, I don't complain when a slice of my hard-earned wages are redistributed to other peoples' kids in the form of family allowance.

I'll even (grudgingly) cede a whole carriage to them on the train if it keeps their incessant screeching out of my ears - though it rarely does.

But I have yet to hear any credible explanation as to why being a mother entitles someone to the best parking spaces.

I would happily surrender my conveniently-close-to-the-main-door space to an elderly or disabled person who, through no fault of their own, may well find a long walk difficult and painful.

But the introduction of mother and child parking spaces is akin to heaping another large fork-load of manure on the PC bandwagon.

Why can't the little darlings walk 100 metres instead of 10?

It's no wonder child obesity is on the rise.

Offering preferential parking is just another way for supermarket chains to kiss the rapidly-expanding posteriors of those who hold the purse strings for the almighty family shop and don't like walking any more than the rest of us.

I suppose their logic is sound.

The more money a family spends on food each week, the less likely they are to want to waddle to the other end of the parking lot.

Beats collecting points for the occasional free budget bratwurst.