A DISABLED woman has been left distraught after she received a £130 fine for parking in a blue badge space – despite being told to do so by a traffic warden.
Gulsie Suleman suffers from serious mobility issues and only leaves the house once a month due to her disability.
She said that a parking attendant in Newham, East London told her on 29 September that it would be alright to park on yellow lines as long as she showed her blue badge in her windscreen.
However, she was then slapped with a £130 fine for parking in the space as directed.
She told MyLondon: “This parking attendant must be addressed.
“He cannot go around giving out tickets when he is uniformed personnel and we, the older generation, look up to uniformed personnel for help.
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“I only go out once a month because I do not feel safe when I’m out. How are the elderly meant to feel protected when this happens?”
Gulsie that the ordeal has increased her anxiety about going out in public.
She said: “It has been such a struggle these past few years.
“I used to have a very proactive, busy lifestyle. I would volunteer with different charities and always exercise.
“I am still adjusting, so experiences like this make it even harder for me.”
The council has since cancelled the ticket and admitted its mistake.
A statement from the council blamed the error on a miscommunication, saying that one parking warden had correctly told Gulsie to use the space, while another had wrongly issued the fine.
A spokesperson for Newham Council said: “The Council has cancelled the penalty charge notice and apologised by letter for the error.
“The Council investigated the complaint and found that two, not one, enforcement officers were involved in the interaction with the resident.
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“The first officer, correctly advised that it was appropriate to park on the yellow lines with a disabled badge, however a second officer subsequently issued a penalty charge notice in error.”
The statement concluded: “We apologise to Ms Suleman for any confusion.”
