Thirteen Blue Badges confiscated across Basingstoke following fraud crackdown

During crackdown operations held in Basingstoke, Andover, Aldershot and Farnborough, and Havant and Fareham across February, the county council confiscated almost 10 per cent of over 500 badges which were inspected.

In the majority of cases, people were using badges correctly but the local authority confiscated 49 badges in total.

Across Basingstoke, the county council found that five badges had been misused, six had expired, one had been lost or cancelled and one person was using the badge of a deceased person.

It is a criminal offence for someone to use a badge that does not belong to them, to alter a badge, create a copy of a badge, to use an expired badge and to commit fraud relating to the use of a Blue Badge.

In addition to receiving penalty charge notices, badge holders also had their badges confiscated and received formal warnings.

Leader of Hampshire County Council, Councillor Roy Perry, said: “As the issuing authority for Blue Badges in Hampshire, it is important that we take action against people misusing Blue Badges.

“By carrying out enforcement operations such as these, our main objective is to make people aware that Blue Badge misuse is not a victimless crime.

“Drivers, who are misusing or abusing the system, are taking spaces away from those who genuinely need them. Residents with disabilities rely on Blue Badges to provide essential access to the places they need to go, and we will continue to pursue those who deliberately put disabled people at a disadvantage by flouting the law.”

He added: “My twin brother spent the last 12 months of his life confined to a wheelchair. For the most part he accepted that with equanimity and a good deal of humour.

“However, the one thing that really got him angry was unentitled people using a disabled bay - often excusing themselves they were only going to be a couple of minutes. I have never forgotten just how important those bays are to people with disabilities.”