NAMED AND SHAMED: Six people in court over wrongful use of disabled blue badge to park in Sheffield

Six motorists have been hauled before the courts for the wrongdful use of a disabled blue badge to park in Sheffield.

The defendants, who clocked up a total of £3,700 in fines between them, were convicted at Sheffield Magistrates' Court last month.

They were Darren Kynoch, aged 53, of Fox Lane, Frecheville, £540 fine; Arshad Hussain, 48, of Pollitt Close, Darnall, £660 fine; Saleh Al-Saegh, 47, of Ashberry Gardens, Upperthorpe, £520 fine; Ellen Thomas, 31, of Woodside Lane, Grenoside, £660 fine and Jane Weaver, 49, of Cambridge Road, Brimington, Chesterfield; £894 fine.

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Alison Grundy, 32, of Burncross Road, Chapeltown was given a conditional discharge but ordered to pay £430 in costs.

The blue badge is confiscated upon successful prosecution as standard.

Nearly 50 people have now appeared before Sheffield Magistrates’ Court charged with wrongful use of a blue badge since Sheffield Council announced it would be taking court action last year.

Coun Jack Scott, cabinet member for transport at Sheffield Council, said: “People who wrongly used a friend or relative’s blue badge should be under no illusion whatsoever.

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“They will face the embarrassment of appearing in court and then have to explain to their relative, if they are still alive, that their actions will lead to the confiscation of a blue badge.

“Using someone’s blue badge in this way is denying a person with a genuine need the space they require.

“We’ve heard a range of excuses from people who have been caught but I’m not interested. The person who has been issued a blue badge has to be using the vehicle. It is that simple.

“The improper use of Blue Badges has a major impact on people who actually do have disabilities, causing parking problems and discrediting the whole scheme.

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“I want people to be in no doubt whatsoever. If you let someone else use your blue badge, they will be prosecuted and fined and the vehicle will get a penalty charge notice too. Nobody else can use the blue badge unless they are travelling with the owner. My team won’t hesitate to continue confiscating blue badge passes where they are abused.”

So far, more than 98 per cent of people caught using a badge that has not been issued to them have had it confiscated following prosecution.

There has now been 46 successful prosecutions for the wrongful use of a blue badge since enforcement began – with Sheffield Magistrates’ Court handing down fines totalling nearly £20,000.

There are currently more than 24,000 blue badges in circulation within Sheffield – 225 of these belong to organisations and the remainder are individual badges.