Almost three out of ten Blue Badges misused by non-disabled drivers

Crackdown operations on Blue Badge misuse and fraud in disabled parking areas, undertaken by Hampshire County Council, found that 28 out of 100 badges inspected were being wrongly used.

Teaming up with Portsmouth City Council’s Blue Badge scheme and eager to target fraudsters, an enforcement team issued formal warnings and confiscated some badges after operations undertaken in Winchester, Andover and Eastleigh. The misuse proved to be a mixture of people using someone else’s badge, people using a deceased person’s badge and people using expired badges.

Councillor Roy Perry, leader of Hampshire County Council, comments: “It is shocking to find out the lengths to which some people will go, for just a few hours of free parking – including using a deceased person’s Blue Badge.

“This is a national problem, but as the issuing authority for Blue Badges in Hampshire, we must ensure that they are being used correctly in the county by the people who really need them, and that disabled people are not competing with drivers who might be misusing or abusing the system. We are determined to protect the quality of life for our vulnerable residents.”

Steven Hewett, parking investigation officer at Portsmouth City Council added: “We’re proud of the work undertaken in the city and across the county to support the Blue Badge scheme. We will continue to pursue those that deliberately put disabled people to a disadvantage.”

The operations were also welcomed by campaigners Disabled Motoring UK, whose director of policy and campaigns, Helen Dolphin, commented: “I'm delighted to hear that Hampshire County Council is tackling Blue Badge abuse, so successfully. Unfortunately abuse of this scheme is seen by many as a victimless crime and many authorities just sweep it under the carpet. However, when you have a disability which means you can only walk a very short distance, being able to park close to where you need to go, is essential.

“I hope Hampshire’s excellent work continues so this scheme can return to being one which helps and improves the lives of disabled people, and not just those who are too lazy to walk that little bit further.”