PARKING attendants across the borough have now been given new powers as part of a crackdown on drivers using disabled blue badges when they are not entitled to.

Drivers across Basingstoke and Deane already risk facing a parking fine by using a blue badge when it has expired, or using a badge which isn’t theirs or has been altered, but now Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s parking enforcement team is also able to hold onto any blue badges they suspect are being used fraudulently.

The new powers follow a National Fraud Authority report that revealed 20 per cent of all disabled badges in circulation were being misused and the new legislation also makes it an offence for motorists to refuse to hand over their blue badge for inspection when asked.

Misuse of a blue badge includes:

• Being used by someone other than the named person

• Using an expired or altered badge

• Using a badge which has been previously reported as lost or stolen

• Using a copied or counterfeit badge

• Using the badge of someone who has died

• Using a cancelled badge

• Refusing to hand over a badge for inspection.

The borough council’s Cabinet member for communities, service delivery and improvement, Councillor Robert Tate, said: “Residents with disabilities rely on blue badges to provide essential access to the places they need to go and drivers who are misusing or abusing the system are taking spaces away from those who genuinely need them.

“By giving our parking attendants the power keep the badges used by people fraudulently we can crackdown on people using them when they shouldn’t and ensure that people with disabilities can get to and enjoy everything the borough has to offer.”

Council parking officers will continue to issue penalty charge notices to vehicles not displaying a badge when required or displaying out-of-date badges.

For more information about the blue badge scheme, visit www.basingstoke.gov.uk/bluebadge.