An elderly Rangiora woman has been left in tears after a thoughtless note shaming her for using a disability park.

A wheelchair-using cafe owner comforted the woman outside the Gables Arcade shopping centre, after she found a note saying "shame on you for parking in a handicap park".

Reality Bites Cafe owner Karl Horwarth says the woman did have a permit to use the park her disability just wasn't visible. He believes people should stop and think before doing things like this.

"Leaving threatening notes to shame somebody, I saw the effect this had on the lady and she was quite upset."