I’M getting a bee in my bonnet about abuse of the blue badge parking scheme.

Like a lot of good and worthy ideas they end up getting abused by a small minority.

From my office in Bank Street in Rawtenstall I regularly watch a lady park her car outside a local wine bar and de-camp with two or three friends for a fairly lengthy lunch.

She exits the car like Linford Christie and seemingly oblivious of the disabled parking bays laying empty 20 yards away.

Once she is safely ensconced, tucking into lunch, her car with its blue badge “force shield” up, creates a bottleneck, especially when the X43 tries to get by.

Further along Bank Street, a trader with disabilities he would appear to keep well hidden, parks outside his shop all day on a single yellow line.

In fairness he does move it when delivery lorries come and he helps unload them!

Oh boy I’m on a roll now. How about market days, again the ample disabled parking bays lie empty whilst the “blue badgers” are parked on the other side clogging the traffic up nicely.

What I can’t understand is that in many cases, the driver stays in situ while their passenger pops into the market.

Why don’t they drop the passenger off and park up in the designated bays a mere 50 yards away and await their passenger’s return?

Because they are “blue badgers”, that’s why!

I’m not the callous git some might think.

I have a mate with cancer whose blue badge is invaluable to him.

He considers having it an honour and does not abuse it.

He goes out of his way to use it in a considerate way.

I wish the same could be said of those I shall call politely the blue badge “Mickey” takers.

I’d like to use another earthier term but I don’t think they would print it.