Suffolk man who used dead mother's blue badge fined

Peter Harrell tampered with the blue badge belonging to his dead mother to change the expiry date

A man who used his dead mother's blue badge for parking has been fined.

Peter Harrell, 72, of Jasmine Road, Red Lodge, was found guilty of altering a blue badge with intent to deceive following a trial at Suffolk Magistrates' Court on 10 August.

In November 2021 a civil parking enforcement officer noticed the badge's expiry date had been tampered with and the photo defaced.

Harrell was ordered to pay a fine and legal costs of £3,504.

Mr Harrell was parked on the Access to Guineas Service Road in Newmarket in November 2021 when the parking officer from West Suffolk Council seized the altered badge.

Mr Harrell claimed the badge belonged to his mother but Suffolk County Council's Counter-Fraud Service found that she had died in August 2020 and the badge had been cancelled the following month but was never returned to the council.

Beccy Hopfensperger, Conservative cabinet member for Adult Care at Suffolk County Council, said: "This prosecution sends a clear message that the misuse of a blue badge will not be tolerated in Suffolk.

"This is not a victimless crime. Illegally using a badge that isn't yours is denying a disabled parking space to one of the 43,000 registered blue badge holders in Suffolk who have a genuine need for them."