CHILTERN Railways is offering free parking at railway stations across the country at weekends except High Wycombe.

As part of a promotion to make festive shopping journeys easier, the company is offering train users the opportunity to park at stations for free every weekend until Christmas.

But Chiltern has missed out three stations in the process, including High Wycombe, as the company says it could be misused by people who don't use the train.

Daniel Lebowski, a 29-year-old sound engineer from Hughenden Road, said: "It's a shame we're not afforded the same liberties as other towns considering we pay good money for a ticket to London.

"It's the small things, like lack of parking, that are gradually spoiling people's freedom."

Other stations which are not part of the deal include Banbury and Aylesbury. The company says High Wycombe railway station is near a busy town centre and claim people could park at the station and walk into the town centre without using trains. A spokesman said: "It is the proximity of where the car parks are really. The town centres around there the three towns are particularly busy and at the weekends people who shouldn't park there will inconvenience other people who want to use trains."

The offer was thought up as a way to combat an "often stressful experience", according to Chiltern Railways. This would allow shoppers to travel to some of "the best shopping destinations in the country".

Carla Pike, who lives near the railway station, said Chiltern had a point. She said: "Non-residents regularly park there in order to avoid paying for parking in town."