Four drivers have been prosecuted for illegally using disabled parking Blue Badges in Bedford town centre.
The drivers must pay a combined total of more than £3,400 as a result of the enforcement operation by Bedford Borough Council’s Investigations team last December.
Blue Badges are provided by councils across the UK to eligible disabled people offering a range of parking concessions, whether travelling as a driver or passenger, and must only be used to benefit the holder.
Mihai Codita, 29, of Orchard Drive, Kempston, was caught displaying a stolen Blue Badge in a parked car on Maitland Street in Bedford, while working at the nearby Domino’s Pizza takeaway in December.
Codita told Council investigators he was given the Blue Badge by a homeless person and blamed parking pressures in the area. Investigators found that the badge had been stolen from a car in July.
He appeared before Luton Magistrates’ Court on 4 August, pleading guilty to one offence under section 117(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and two offences under the Fraud Act 2006.
Codita was sentenced to a 12-month community order with 100 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £114 and costs of £1,000.
Another delivery driver at the same Domino’s Pizza takeaway in Midland Road was also prosecuted at Luton Magistrates’ Court on 28 August for Blue Badge misuse.
Vivek Gopalapillai Dhananjayan, known as Vivek Gopal, 38, of Emmer Drive, Wixams, pleaded guilty to one charge of section 117(1) Road Traffic Regulation Act, having displayed a stolen Blue Badge in a parked car near the junction at Maitland Street and Midland Road in December.
Gopal was ordered to pay a total of £300, including a fine, victim surcharge and court costs.
Council investigators also uncovered another two cases of Blue Badge fraud in the town centre during their enforcement operation.
Alina Wazna, 36, of Grosvenor Court, The Avenue, Bedford, was caught illegally using a child’s Blue Badge while parked in Riverside Car Park during school term time in December.
Wazna, pleaded guilty to one charge of wrongful use of a Blue Badge under Section 117(1) Road Traffic Regulation Act at Luton Magistrates’ Court on 28 August.
Magistrates heard that the Council had confirmed that her child was in school on the day and raised the seriousness of using a child’s Blue Badge to avoid paying for parking, particularly in her trusted role as a self-employed counsellor.
Wazna was ordered to pay a total of £412, including a fine, victim surcharge and court costs.
In a separate case, Dominik Hornak, of Spencer Road, Bedford, had displayed an expired Blue Badge when parked in Saint Loyes Street in the town centre in December.
Hornak admitted to investigators that the Blue Badge belonged to his stepfather but did not realise it had expired.
He did not attend the hearing at Luton Magistrates’ Court on 4 August, but was prosecuted under section 117(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and was ordered to pay a total of £1,642.80, including a victim surcharge and court costs.
Councillor Marc Frost, Portfolio Holder for Financial Services and Financial Sustainability said; “Blue Badges exist to help people with genuine mobility needs park near to where they need to go. Every time a badge is misused, it takes away a parking space from someone who really needs it and denies the Council revenue that funds local services.
“Council officers estimate that the misuse of a single Blue Badge can cost the Council around £1,000 a year in lost parking revenue - on top of the impact on genuinely disabled residents who are left without a space.
“These prosecutions show that we take Blue Badge fraud seriously, and we will continue to carry out enforcement operations and pursue offenders through the courts.”
Bedford Borough Council's Investigations team regularly undertakes enforcement operations across the Borough to identify and tackle Blue Badge misuse and other forms of fraud against the Council.
If you have any information relating to anyone misusing a Blue Badge, please report to Bedford Borough Council’s Investigation Service at https://www.reportafraud.co.uk/bedfordbc