A DISABLED pensioner is angry she has again been fined £100 for parking her car in a disabled space.

Patricia Claridge, of Willoughby Way, Winklebury, Basingstoke, parked her Ford van in a disabled space at Chineham Shopping Centre and put her disabled exemption card on the dashboard.

Mrs Claridge has problems with her spine and is unable to walk very far because of the pain.

But when she returned to her vehicle with her husband Peter, she was shocked to find a parking ticket had been put on the vehicle.

Parking managers at the shopping centre say she was displaying the wrong side of her card and they could not see the expiry date.

The 71-year-old said: “I’m absolutely angry. They could be doing this to hundreds of people.”

It is the second time this year that Mrs Claridge has been issued with a parking fine at the same car park.

In the summer, she was told her badge was faded and displayed incorrectly, so she ordered a new one to make sure it could be seen properly.

She said: “I won’t pay the fine, even if I have to go to court – I won’t pay it. In all the years I have had the badge, I have never had any trouble except this last year.”

The parking ticket was issued by a private company called UK Parking Control Ltd. Financial manager Simon Hill said the disabled card had been displayed incorrectly with the photograph facing up, rather than showing the expiry date.

He added: “We strongly feel that being disabled brings enough obstacles and difficulties without the misuse of disabled bays. We aim to ensure that designated disabled persons parking bays are used only by those entitled to do so. We’ve received no correspondence on this case but if a copy of the other side of the permit can be produced, we shall cancel the ticket with immediate effect and send a letter of apology.”