I would be interested to hear whether any of your readers have experienced the manifestly unhelpful service provided by Hampshire County Council's blue badge team.

My wife was originally granted a blue badge in 2016 due to osteoarthritis in her right knee, which causes her significant mobility difficulty.

However, when she applied for this to be renewed, this was declined on the basis that she was not eligible for a blue badge, which - bearing in mind her arthritis has not miraculously been cured - is difficult to understand.

She subsequently appealed this decision and, having heard nothing in reply (not even an acknowledgement), contacted the blue badge team for an update on some idea of when she would receive a final decision (the current badge expires on (January 18).

However, the team were clearly inclined not to be helpful, one person telling her 'I don't know how long it will take, I've not been here long' and another saying 'it depends'. While we understand the pressure on local authorities to save money, this does not give the council carte blanche to refuse residents access to support they are legitimately entitled to and, furthermore, customer service training for the staff with roles which involve contact with members of the public would not go amiss.

Darren Fearnley, Exmoor Close, Basingstoke