A woman has been ordered to pay £2,514 after fraudulently using a family member’s Blue Badge to park, following a Hillingdon Council investigation.
Sazia Ahmed, 41, of East Avenue, Hayes admitted to wrongful use of a Blue Badge in contravention of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, and was sentenced at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 27 October. Ahmed was told to pay a contribution towards prosecution costs of £2,224, fined £207 and a victim surcharge of £83.
The council’s counter fraud team, parking enforcement officers, and local police carried out a joint operation on 19 March following reports of several vehicles using Blue Badges to park on single yellow lines near Dr Triplett’s Primary School in Hayes during pick up and drop off times.
At around 3.15pm, officers observed an Audi A5 parked on a single yellow line with a Blue Badge displayed on the vehicle’s dashboard.
When officers approached the driver and inspected the badge, Ahmed stated that it belonged to her mother, who was at home at the time.
Officers explained that a Blue Badge may only be used when the badge holder is travelling in the vehicle, or where the vehicle is being used to collect or drop them off.
Ahmed acknowledged that she had used the badge when its holder was not present and officers seized the Blue Badge so that it could be returned to the council.
Cllr Eddie Lavery, Hillingdon Council’s Cabinet Member for Finance, said: “Blue Badges are intended for residents who need to legitimately access services and places where they would otherwise struggle, and using a badge in this way demonstrated a clear disregard for the rules.
“The council will continue to take the toughest action the law allows against those who abuse the system in our borough."
Blue Badge misuse can be reported anonymously at www.hillingdon.gov.uk/report-fraud.