Chelsea Mercedes driver fined after using his dead wife’s blue badge to park in disabled bays
By Jacob Phillips, Local Democracy Reporter
A driver has been ordered to pay £1,241 for using his dead wife’s disabled parking permit to park his Mercedes where he wanted.
The Chelsea resident would park his silver Merc in a disabled parking bay on Basil Street.
He was fined ÂŁ726 for the offence at City of London Magistrates Court on February 2 and asked to pay Kensington and Chelsea council a further ÂŁ515 to cover costs.
The council have now fined 259 people for blue badge fraud in the borough over the past five years.
A second driver was recently fined £955 for using an elderly woman’s blue badge to park his BMW outside Kensington Town Hall.
The con man used a disabled badge issued by the London Borough of Hounslow, which had been reported as lost or stolen by an elderly resident.
He was fined ÂŁ400, ordered to pay council costs of ÂŁ515 and a victim surcharge of ÂŁ40.
RBKC has fined 36 offenders in the last year for misusing parking badges. In 2018, 68 drivers were fined for the offence and 71 drivers were fined in 2019. The council has a dedicated officer who patrols the streets of Chelsea to ensure that no one is misusing a blue badge.
Someone illegally using a blue badge can cost local authorities up to ÂŁ10,000 a year.
The crime also stops disabled residents from being able to access key locations.
Councillor Johnny Thalassites, lead member for planning, place and environment, said: “Blue Badges are a lifeline for disabled residents and visitors who rely on being able to access convenient places to park for their home, work and social lives.
“Using these badges fraudulently can have a huge detrimental impact on the day-to-day activities of disabled drivers. We will not tolerate it and our team will continue to seek out and take action against anyone committing Blue Badge fraud.”
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