Crime & Safety
Fake blue badge abuse fuels calls for national crackdown
The schemes have reached a new high in usage, with one in 20 people in England now holding a permit.
The AA is calling for a clampdown on offences involving stolen, counterfeit, or misused badges, warning that up to one in five may not be used by the legitimate holder.
Blue badges are intended to help people with disabilities park closer to shops and services.
Calls for a crackdown on the misuse of blue badges
Edmund King, president of the AA, said: “The blue badge scheme is a mobility lifeline for millions of legitimate users and their families.
“Our concern is not the absolute number of badges issued but the estimates that up to one in five badges may be used by someone other than the holder or authorised user.
“Fraud is an issue which can include family misuse, use after death, counterfeit badges and theft and resale of badges.
“We would welcome a crackdown on illegitimate use of badges to safeguard the deserving users.”
New figures from the Department for Transport (DfT) reveal that 5.2 per cent of people in England held a blue badge as of March 31, 2025.
This equates to 3.07 million badges and marks an eight per cent increase compared to the previous year.
The highest proportion of badge holders was recorded in the north east, at 6.1 per cent of the population, while the lowest was in London at 3.5 per cent.
The surge in badge holders may be partly due to expanded eligibility.
In 2019, the scheme was broadened to include people with non-visible disabilities such as Parkinson’s, dementia, and epilepsy.
More than two-fifths of badges issued in 2024/25 were granted without further assessment.
Blue badge holders can often park for free in pay-and-display bays and are permitted to park on single and double yellow lines for up to three hours, depending on local regulations.
In London, blue badges also exempt users from the daily £18 congestion charge.
While there are no recent figures for the cost of blue badge fraud in the UK, the National Fraud Authority – a now-closed Home Office agency – estimated it to be £46 million per year in 2011.
Recent prosecutions highlight the ongoing problem.
In January, Croydon Council said seven offenders were ordered to pay a total of £6,000 in a combination of fines, court costs, and a victim surcharge.
The cases involved badges which were stolen, counterfeit or belonged to someone else.
Barking and Dagenham Council in east London reported four convictions for illegal use of blue badges in December last year.
Gateshead Council also prosecuted a driver that month for using another person’s permit.
In September 2025, Oxfordshire County Council reported two convictions, including a man caught using his deceased grandmother’s badge.
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A spokesperson for the Local Government Association said: “Although the vast majority of badges are used correctly, there is a small minority who fraudulently use other people’s, either to save money by parking in disabled bays or through laziness, depriving someone with a genuine need.
“It is important to catch these criminals in the act.
“To help councils win the fight against blue badge fraud, residents must keep tipping councils off about people they suspect are illegally using a badge, bearing in mind people’s need for a badge might not be obvious.”
A spokesperson for the DfT said: “Exploitation and abuse of the blue badge scheme is completely unacceptable and is a criminal offence.
“Local authorities have been given improved powers to crack down on fraud and misuse in their area and work closely with the police.”
Do you think enough is being done about the misuse of blue badges? Let us know in the comments.
Oxfordshire Bootsale and Events Company said its Burcot sale just off the Berinsfield Roundabout will not go ahead on the first day of each weekend.
Organisers said on social media that the reasons are down to a “lack of support at present and huge expenses and people moaning [that] it’s too small”.
They added: “Sadly they forget Abingdon and Witney were that small and had to grow. Our policy has now to be use it or lose it.”
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However, officials confirmed the event would still go ahead each Sunday at the same location, just off the A415.
Abingdon and Witney car boot sales will continue to go ahead as planned.
Jamie Clark, aged 36, from Henley was arrested on April 7 and charged the following day.
On April 9 he appeared before High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court and pleaded guilty to six shoplifting offences and two counts of criminal damage, committed between 28 March and 2 April at Boots on Bell Street, Henley.
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He was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment.
Police constable Sarah Puksis said: “This sentence sends a clear message – repeat shoplifting, particularly of high value goods, won’t be tolerated.
“We work closely with retailers to identify offenders and take firm action.”
This is not the first time Mr Clark has been in trouble with the law, nor is it the first time he has stolen from the Henley Boots.
In 2025, he was sentenced to four months and two weeks in prison after pleading guilty to three counts of shoplifting at Oxford Magistrates’ Court on November 18.
On October 21 and 22 last year, Clark forced open a cabinet in Boots on Bell Street and stole high-value fragrances worth a total of £4,965.
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Clark was arrested on November 17, 2025, and charged the same day.
A spokesperson for Thames Valley Police said on the latest incident: “We’re absolutely committed to tackling shoplifting and supporting local businesses.
“So please keep reporting incidents, save CCTV, and let us do the rest. Remember: the only thing you should be lifting in Boots… is your shopping basket.”
The 84-year-old actress admits in an upcoming film her feelings around her own mortality and her hopes of reaching 90.
Born and raised in Oxford, Ms Margolyes is perhaps most famous for playing Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter film series and for her role as Mrs Mingott in Martin Scorsese’s 1993 film, The Age of Innocence, for which she won a BAFTA.
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The new documentary ‘Miriam Made Me Me’ is directed and produced by Simon Draper and edited by Gwyn Jones.
It will air at 9pm on Monday 13 April on BBC Two and iPlayer.
Initially intended to be a podcast series, Mr Draper ended up securing so much footage that he was able to create this film.
Speaking to Televisual, he said: “The result is an unfiltered portrait of an often controversial actress and her transformative effects on others; especially me.”
In the film, according to the Daily Mirror, Ms Margolyes shows her life including performing on stage and meeting the King and Queen.
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In addition, she reveals her thoughts on death, which she admits “feels extremely close”.
She said: “Death feels round the corner, behind the bush just up the road. I am scared of it, and I think I probably always will be, and I’m cross about death.”
In addition, she admits that she hopes to reach 90 and go without loss of pain or dignity.
Ms Margolyes has in the past spoken about the health problems that come with aging including that she cannot walk well.
She told Original Cin that as she was marketing recent film Holy Days.
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