DISABLED pensioners have branded the council heavy-handed for hitting them with a parking fine despite seeing their blue badge.

Joseph Hogan, 80, stopped for milk on a single yellow line outside Barclays in Wanstead High Street with his wife Mary, 74.

The pair had been at a hospital appointment for Mrs Hogan that morning, where they were expecting the result of a test to see if her breast cancer had returned, but were told her results had been lost.

They forgot to display the disabled parking badge they use because of Mrs Hogan’s arthritis before they got out of the car, but Mrs Hogan said she showed it to the traffic warden when he arrived.

“I saw him coming and said ‘Oh my goodness’ and grabbed the blue badge,” she said. “He said it didn’t matter because the ticket was done and it was in and couldn’t be changed.

“He said I could appeal but he wouldn’t withdraw it.”

Despite sending the council a doctor’s letter explaining that Mr Hogan had memory problems and Mrs Hogan had unexpectedly had a biopsy at hospital that morning, the couple were told their appeal had failed and they had to pay £110.

“I feel very let-down,” said Mrs Hogan. “I thought that if I produced a badge there and then, it may have been OK, but it wasn’t.

“He must have already had the ticket done when he reached the car and he handed it to me.”

The couple's daughter, Lorraine Hogan, 48, of Meadow Walk, Wanstead, is helping them to appeal the fine a second time.

She said the incident had put her parents, who live in Highams Park, off visiting Wanstead.

“If people can’t have sympathy for a situation like theirs, it’s not worth living in this society.

“With the morning they had, I just think they should have considered the situation.”

The council was criticised for being over-zealous when fining disabled Dennis Hayes, 84, while he said he was reaching for his disabled parking badge in Grove Park, Wanstead, in 2009.

A Redbridge Council spokeswoman said: "Every effort is made to manage parking enforcement in the borough on a fair and consistent basis and any vehicle found committing a contravention will be issued with a fixed penalty notice (PCN).

"If after an appeal it is found that the PCN has been issued incorrectly arrangements will be made for the PCN to be cancelled.

"We sympathise with the situation, however, it is the driver's responsibility to make sure the disabled badge is clearly and correctly displayed before leaving the vehicle. Failure to do so will result in a PCN.

"The rejection letter explained this. We cannot discuss the specific details of the appeal with anyone other than the appellant."

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