A RAMSBOTTOM mum was left shocked after being ticketed for parking in a disabled space with a blue badge.

Sarah Morris, 41, and her daughter, 7, parked in a designated disabled space with her Blue Badge on display only to return to a £70 parking fine.

The ticket stated, ‘parking in a designated disabled parking space without displaying a valid disabled person badge in the prescribed manner’.

Sarah and her daughter are both physically able, but her daughter is on the autistic spectrum and has Sensory Processing Disorder (SEN).  She believes that she was ticketed because the disability was hidden.

She said: “It was draining, and I hadn’t had any response back from the council.

“I parked in the disabled area of the Market car park at 2.00 pm but the ticket was issued at 1.59 pm so we must have been walking away from the vehicle when it was given.”

Upon returning, a traffic warden suggested the ticket could have been issued because they parked in a disabled space and both ‘walked out’.

Sarah has been fighting for more awareness, provision and support within Bury for SEN and now feels she must fight again to prove her daughter’s hidden disability.

After locating a traffic warden, she asked if her badge was correctly displayed.

She said: “He confirmed it was correctly displayed, he hadn’t issued the ticket and that looking at the timings, the issuing warden most likely saw myself and my daughter leaving the vehicle.

“He added that because we could both walk, that was likely to be the reason. Does that mean Bury Council only accept physical disabilities?

“The reason on the ticket given is, that I was parked in a designated disabled parking space without displaying a valid disabled person badge in the prescribed manner.”

This is the second ticket received by Sarah, with the first being on Roughill Lane.

Bury Council have since responded and cancelled the ticket from the Market Street car park.

A spokesperson said: “Our parking contractors NSL are committed to ensuring that their staff maintain the highest standards of customer care and professional behaviour while on duty. They would never give someone a PCN because their disability was non-visible.

“The Market Street PCN was issued because the warden had not seen the blue badge holder – her child - with the vehicle at the time it was parked. Following investigation, we have decided to cancel this PCN.

“As regards the PCN on Roughill Lane. The car was parked in a residents’ only parking zone, which is clearly signed. Blue badges are not valid in these zones. Drivers must have either a resident’s or a visitor’s permit to park there.”