Disabled bay misuse puts Send families 'in danger'

Michelle King said the misuse of disabled parking bays was creating "barriers to education, healthcare and community life" for families

Families of children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) said misuse of disabled parking areas was making life stressful and unsafe.

Cambridgeshire charity Little Miracles said it received regular complaints about people using bays improperly, forcing parents "to unload medically fragile children in dangerous areas".

One mother from Peterborough said drivers often parked so close to her car it was impossible to extend her daughter's wheelchair ramp, while others said holders of blue badges faced abuse and resentment from drivers.

In the year to November, Peterborough City Council issued 1,426 fines to people parking in disabled bays without the right to do so.

Bernadette Geldart from Peterborough, whose six-year-old son is autistic and non-verbal, said people misusing disabled bays had "no clue how hard it is to keep my child safe in public".

"My main issue is even when using a space he's entitled to, we get the muttering under their breath, 'you don't look disabled'."

Mother Sophie said she had been "sworn at multiple times" as she got her son out of the car.

Another mum, who wished to remain anonymous, said she regularly found there were no free disabled bays at Peterborough College.

"I have to park on the side of the road to use the ramp for my daughter's wheelchair," she said.

"I find a lot of people park close to the back of my car despite a sticker asking for a three-metre distance to get the ramp down."

Peterborough College said it currently had 26 disabled parking spaces and hoped to increase provision further to make the site a more "accessible, safe and welcoming environment for everyone".

Little Miracles supports Send families from Peterborough and Fenland.

"What should be a simple everyday task, like getting a child out of a car, can turn into an impossible situation because someone has decided to use the blue badge bay inappropriately," founder Michelle King said.

"Families face judgement and abuse, including people demanding to see their badge or staring into car windows - even when they're unloading children in their wheelchairs and who are visibly on life-supporting equipment," she said.

Natalia Zaman said her daughter Maryam was "entitled" to the blue badge and the issue of parking misuse frustrated her

Natalia Zaman's nine-year-old daughter uses a wheelchair and needs an adapted car to travel around.

She said there was a "real issue" with a lack of disabled spaces in Peterborough city centre.

"It is a very disproportionate number of disabled parking spaces in town," she said.

There are 11 city centre car parks owned and managed by Peterborough City Council, with a total of 2,552 spaces.

Of these, only 50 are reserved for blue badge holders, and four of the car parks have no disabled spaces at all.

The council said blue badge holders were able to use on-street pay and display bays around the city centre for free.

Little Miracles said parents unable to use their wheelchair ramps was a real safety issue

Ms King said people misusing the bays left parents "feeling invisible and unprotected".

"It can be a very scary experience both for the parents and the young people."

Ms Zaman who runs Julaybib Project, a help group for Send mums from ethnic minorities, said more awareness was needed to tackle the issue.

"The blue badge is a necessity for us, not a luxury. People need to understand that."