A Twitter user has sparked a social media storm after mocking female-only parking bays intended to make women feel safer at night.

The 'ladies only' bays were introduced in 2002 at the Bow Street car park in Bolton.

But one social media user, who goes by the name Josh Woogs, found the bays rather amusing - posting online 'I can't believe what I'm seeing here haha'.

He also uploaded some images alongside his post on Saturday, subsequently joking that a reversed car seen in one of them was 'parked by her husband'.

Josh Woogs posted images of the bays to Twitter on Saturday. The 'ladies only' bays were introduced in 2002 at the Bow Street car park in Bolton

The Twitter user suggested that reverse parked cars in the bays (above) had probably been parked by a woman's husband - sparking a fierce backlash (below)

His comments have resulted in a fierce backlash with one person labeling the man 'uneducated' and another calling him 'sexist'.

In 2009, the Manchester Evening News reported that the bays had not been adopted in other car parks.

But that officials had permitted these ones to provide reassurance and make sure women feel safe when they return to their cars

This issue was touched upon in some of the replies to the social media post.

Jo Kneale said: 'Excellent idea. So that women who need to travel alone have a little more security and peace of mind. More places should do it.'

While another called Jake wrote: 'Women frankly deserve the protection. They are less likely to be able to defend themselves when attacked in a parking garage so it makes it quicker and therefore safer for a woman to be able to reach her car.'

Twitter users were quick to leap to the defence of the bays saying they provided 'security' for women returning home late at night. But the original poster (below) suggested there should be more equality over the spaces

It hasn't stopped people making jokes about the bays, however.

Lloydie wrote: 'It's to give them enough time to go in and out the space 14 times before settling on nearly in the middle.'

While Mikey said: 'Extra width to accommodate poor driving'.

The original uploader, who claims to be a professional boxer, sparked further outrage by saying: 'I parked my car in there and some old woman actually gave me evils haha.'

Andrea Davies asked Josh Woogs: Do you have a wife or girlfriend? Would you want your W/G to park in a safe light space near security or would you rather her park in a dark unmanned part of the car park?'

To which he later replied: 'It is shocking? Doesn't mean I don't understand why it's there. You'd be crying if this said MEN ONLY and there wasn't a ladies section.'

Ms Davies then labelled him 'uneducated' and said: 'You can't understand why women need safely lit parking spaces and admitted you actually parked in one. What a man.'

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News in 2009, a spokesman for Bolton Council said: 'The bays were created in recognition of the fact that it can sometimes be intimidating for women to return to a multi-storey car park alone, especially after dark.

'The bays are well lit and near the security guard's building, so women can feel safe when returning to their cars.

'Also, the security guards in the car park are always happy to escort a person back to their car if they feel at all unsafe.'

A spokesman for the council told MailOnline today that the car park is now owned by a new shopping centre.