WHY is it that vehicles which are parked in clearly designated disabled parking bays, without displaying an orange badge, are allowed to park there and not receive a ticket?

As a disabled driver I was forced to leave my vehicle in a no-waiting area because there were two vehicles parked in bays set aside for badge-holders. And even though my vehicle was displayed an orange badge I received a ticket for illegal parking (quite rightly, in my opinion).

What is so unfair is that the driver of a vehicle displaying a badge is penalised when, a couple of yards away, vehicles that are also committing an offence are not given a ticket. A clear case of double standards.

I objected to paying for the reasons outlined, and an appearance in court followed. There I thought my testimony would vindicate any actions but apparently not. As a result I was found guilty of the parking offence.

As I still refused to pay, the court issued a distress warrant for bailiffs to recover the outstanding fine on top of which were costs for the bailiffs. Is this really justice?

STEPHEN BRIDGE, Rochdale Old Road, Bury.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.