South Yorkshire woman pretended to be disabled to avoid pay and display cost

Joanne Wright,aged 45, of Wingfield Road, Rotherham, used her mother’s disabled parking badge to park in a ‘pay and display’ parking bay on Eastwood Lane in April 2018.

Council officers visited the badge holder’s address and established that she was at home at the time the badge was being used.

Wright pleaded not guilty when the case was originally heard in Sheffield Magistrates Court in September 2018. The trial was set for 15th January 2019 but Wright failed to appear in court and was found guilty in her absence. She was fined £660 with £586 costs and £66 victim surcharge.

Councillor Denise Lelliott, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Jobs and the Local Economy said “This is a further example of this extremely anti-social crime. People need to consider whether it is worth risking a criminal record rather than paying for parking.

“I wish to congratulate the Council officers involved with this case on their tenacity in achieving this positive outcome. This Council will continue to take such cases very seriously and take legal action whenever it is in the public interest to do so.”