London mum fined £700 for using son’s blue badge to run to shops

A London mum has been asked to pay over £700 after using her son’s disabled badge to park when she ran to shops while he was ill. Iris Elphson, 38, was caught using the blue badge when she parked on Bulwer Street outside Westfield Shopping Centre an eight-minute journey from her home in Banstead Court, Westway on July 18 2020.

Now, two years on from the incident, she has been fined £200 and asked to pay Hammersmith and Fulham Council £504 in costs plus a £32 victim surcharge fee. A parking inspector approached Elphson after he spotted the badge on her car and he spotted her leaving the vehicle, City of London Magistrates Court heard on October 27.

When the inspector asked Elphson why she had used the blue badge, she reportedly said it belonged to her son who was ill at home. She added that she normally used the badge as her son is usually with her. But because her son was not there, Ms Elphson should have paid as usual. She did not attend court.