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Fake disabled badges
satan666wayne
Posts: 1,023 Forumite
in Motoring
Nice to see someone is doing something about this.
http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/men/news/s/191/191782_car_cheats_caught_out.html
Car cheats caught out
John Scheerhout
A row of five cars displaying false blue disabled badges on Faulkner Street.MORE than 300 cheats have been caught in a Manchester crackdown on fake disabled parking badges.
One driver has been fined £400 and ordered to pay £400 costs. Another 30 are being summonsed.
The rest remain unaware they have been caught while evidence is gathered to bring them to court.
It means at least 269 blue badges are still being used to get free parking in and around the city.
Council parking bosses admit they are only "scratching the surface" of the scam and have vowed to plough more resources into tackling it.
The fraud is hitting council funds because the fakers are not paying for their parking. And genuine blue badge holders are being deprived of a space.
At any one time about 40 per cent of the 3,000 parking bays in Manchester are filled by drivers displaying a blue badge - and it is believed about 10 per cent of the badges are fakes.
Manchester city council bosses launched a crackdown three months ago and recruited a warden to find the cheats. The warden checks the serial numbers and expiry dates with the issuing authority to see if they are bogus.
Forgers
Parking bosses believe at least two forgers are behind the dodgy blue badges. The drivers who have been summonsed have given a number of explanations about how they got the badges, from finding them in the street to paying £40 for them in the pub. One has claimed he paid £250.
When the M.E.N. joined the warden on Faulkner Street in Chinatown, he found a row of five cars all displaying fake blue badges. One motorist returned to see his car being towed away. He admitted the badge was a fake and he will be summonsed.
City council parking manager Graham Marsh said: "It's obvious we're just scratching the surface. It could be treble the number we have at the moment. Clearly it's now turning into something we have to have a serious look at."
Coun Neil Swannick, executive member for planning and environment, said: "I think we are getting to grips with the problem. Cases are being brought to court because it's not just a parking offence, it's illegal.
"I think it's despicable that people should be trying to get free parking in this way."
http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/men/news/s/191/191782_car_cheats_caught_out.html
Car cheats caught out
John Scheerhout
A row of five cars displaying false blue disabled badges on Faulkner Street.MORE than 300 cheats have been caught in a Manchester crackdown on fake disabled parking badges.
One driver has been fined £400 and ordered to pay £400 costs. Another 30 are being summonsed.
The rest remain unaware they have been caught while evidence is gathered to bring them to court.
It means at least 269 blue badges are still being used to get free parking in and around the city.
Council parking bosses admit they are only "scratching the surface" of the scam and have vowed to plough more resources into tackling it.
The fraud is hitting council funds because the fakers are not paying for their parking. And genuine blue badge holders are being deprived of a space.
At any one time about 40 per cent of the 3,000 parking bays in Manchester are filled by drivers displaying a blue badge - and it is believed about 10 per cent of the badges are fakes.
Manchester city council bosses launched a crackdown three months ago and recruited a warden to find the cheats. The warden checks the serial numbers and expiry dates with the issuing authority to see if they are bogus.
Forgers
Parking bosses believe at least two forgers are behind the dodgy blue badges. The drivers who have been summonsed have given a number of explanations about how they got the badges, from finding them in the street to paying £40 for them in the pub. One has claimed he paid £250.
When the M.E.N. joined the warden on Faulkner Street in Chinatown, he found a row of five cars all displaying fake blue badges. One motorist returned to see his car being towed away. He admitted the badge was a fake and he will be summonsed.
City council parking manager Graham Marsh said: "It's obvious we're just scratching the surface. It could be treble the number we have at the moment. Clearly it's now turning into something we have to have a serious look at."
Coun Neil Swannick, executive member for planning and environment, said: "I think we are getting to grips with the problem. Cases are being brought to court because it's not just a parking offence, it's illegal.
"I think it's despicable that people should be trying to get free parking in this way."
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