The Blue Badge had been stolen in a separate incident
A South London driver has been ordered to pay more than £3,400 after using a Blue Badge previously stolen from a 90-year-old disabled woman, in a separate incident, to park near his home. Irzan Jsufay, 27, admitted to buying the badge from an unauthorised source at Lavender Hill Magistrates’ Court on July 13.
Mr Jsufay, of Herlwyn Gardens, Tooting, pleaded guilty to three offences of using a Blue Badge with intent to deceive at the hearing following an investigation.
He was ordered to pay £3,480 overall, including a fine and legal costs, after the judge took into account his guilty plea, previous good character and his means. He also had his car impounded, which cost him an extra £255 in recovery charges.
The Blue Badge had previously been stolen from the car of a 90-year-old disabled woman living in Hertfordshire, before Mr Jsufay bought it, according to Wandsworth Council. The authority said it could have cost him as little as £3.60 a week to buy a parking permit.
The council said “abuse” of the Blue Badge scheme is “widespread” in London because it allows holders to park “virtually anywhere they like free of charge”. Blue Badges can only be used lawfully if the disabled person is driving the vehicle, or being driven as a passenger and being dropped off or picked up at that location.
Labour councillor Jenny Yates, cabinet member for transport, said: “Not only has this proved a very expensive lesson for this individual, it’s also landed him with a criminal record for fraud which could have very serious ramifications for him in the future.
“And what mustn’t be overlooked is the undoubted distress, cost and inconvenience this trade in stolen Blue Badges will have caused to the elderly woman whose badge it was and whose car was broken into.
“Unfortunately there are many people who try to fiddle the system in this way. The Blue Badge scheme exists to help disabled people get out and about, drive to work, visit friends or go shopping. It was not invented to give able-bodied people a passport to free parking nor allow selfish drivers to use designated spaces genuinely needed by those who have a disability.”