Disabled RAF veteran Alan hit with scooter parking fine in blue badge row
An RAF veteran with one leg has been hit with a £70 fine for parking his mobility scooter in the street.
Alan Briscoe, who worked in electronic warfare before becoming a pub landlord, was savouring one of his first post-lockdown pints in the sun outside The Wheatsheaf in Shrewsbury’s High Street when a traffic warden asked him to move his mobility vehicle to a disabled bay.
He moved it right away, but the warden noticed it had no blue badge, so slapped him with a fine.
Alan said: “She was very abrupt with me. She said it was because it didn’t have a blue badge.
"How can you put a blue badge on a scooter without somebody nicking it? You don't need a permit to park on the path, as long as it's not obstructing people or in a dangerous position."
The former landlord of The Old Lion Tap in Barrack’s Passage, and The Loggerheads in Church Street, contested the ticket, but his appeal was dismissed by Shropshire Council.
Alan, who had a blood infection in his leg and six years ago had to decide between "a coffin or chopping it off", couldn't believe how harshly he was treated.
"It's a proper car parking ticket," he said. "I was parked up by The Wheatsheaf on the High Street. It was parked by the signs there. A traffic warden took one look at it and told me to put it in the disabled parking bay about 100m away. So I put it there and she put a ticket straight on it."
He added: "I think because it had a number plate on it, she got the wrong end of the stick. It's a Cat 3 vehicle so it has to be registered with the DVLA. I don't normally have the registration on it. I don't think I'll have it on again because it's been more trouble than it's worth."
According to government guidance, all mobility scooters and powered wheelchairs can legally travel at a maximum of 4mph on footpaths or in pedestrian areas. You cannot drive any type of mobility scooter or powered wheelchair on cycle paths marked ‘cycle only’. Guidance also says that all normal parking restrictions apply to mobility scooters and powered wheelchairs.
The guidance adds: "Your vehicle should not be left on a footpath or pedestrian area on its own if it gets in the way of other pedestrians, including wheelchair users and people with prams or pushchairs."
Shropshire Council has been approached for a comment.
