A second Londoner was fined for having lunch in a disabled parking spot
A man has been fined for using his dad’s disabled parking badge a year after he died of Covid. Nasir Syed Zaidi, 61, was caught using his 90-year-old Asim Zaidi’s blue badge when he parked his black Golf on Hornton Street in Chelsea on the afternoon of January 11.
A Kensington and Chelsea parking inspector spotted the car parked in a disabled bay and when they checked Nasir’s blue badge they discovered it belonged to his dad Asim Zaidi – who died of Covid on October 20, 2020. Mr Zaidi said he used his father’s blue badge as he needed the toilet and he had left a note on the car saying he would be back in five minutes.
There was no evidence to show that he had been using the badge on other occasions. Mr Zaidi pleaded guilty to the offence at City of London Magistrates Court today (September 21) and was asked to pay £269 in fines and legal fees. He only spoke to plead guilty.
Sentencing, Mr Zaidi Magistrate Jan Carr said: “We have listened to the details of this case. We accept this was a one off. We are going to give you [a smaller fine] for your early guilty plea.”
A second man was also asked to pay Kensington and Chelsea Council (RBKC) £292 for using a blue badge to park in a disabled spot and have his lunch.
Marcus Leon, 46, was caught sitting on his phone in a disabled parking bay by a RBKC inspector on Argyll Road in Kensington on January 25. He claimed he had discovered the blue badge on a bench in the park.
He told City of London Magistrates Court today: “I was sitting having my lunch break. I was reflecting on how tough times have been over the past few years. I found the badge in the park by a bench. I said to myself – this is my lucky day… Because of hard times, I used this. You will probably never see me in court again.”
He pleaded guilty and admitted to using the badge twice.
Orginally published by Jacob Phillips