Blue badges revoked after Bridgend council crackdown

Blue badge permits allow people with disabilities to park closer to their destination

A two-day crackdown on people misusing blue badge parking permits in Bridgend led to 20 being revoked and 15 people fined.

The council checked hundreds of badges and said most cases involved people using someone else's badge to avoid paying for parking.

One person was caught using a badge belonging to a dead relative.

Blue badges should only be displayed if the badge-holder is present in the vehicle when it arrives or parks.

The work was carried out on Tuesday and Wednesday in partnership with a specialist team from Portsmouth City Council.

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The misuse of a blue badge is subject to a penalty on conviction of up to £1,000, although this can potentially increase to more than £5,000 in cases of fraud.

Bridgend council's leader, Huw David, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service abuse of the scheme reduced the number of spaces available for genuine blue badge holders to use and impacted the most vulnerable members of the community.

People who misuse them can be fined

Simon Green, chairman of the Bridgend Coalition of Disabled People, said: "Blue badges are essential to many and are not a luxury.

"They can be a necessity for getting to work, to go shopping, attend appointments or meeting friends socially, as many people need to park closer to buildings.

"As a wheelchair user myself, I need the extra space to get out of my car."

"While I continue to campaign to keep blue badge parking free in council-owned car parks and to have more accessible spaces, I think a zero tolerance needs to be taken against anyone who uses a space illegally," he added.