Islington Tribune - by PETER GRUNER Published: 16 November 2007
£2,500 fines for badge cheats
THREE drivers who illegally used blue badge parking permits have been fined almost £2,500 by Highbury magistrates.
Kevin Michael, of Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, admitted using a fake blue badge when he parked next to Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on April 23. He was fined £300, with £75 costs.
Shokurullah Sediqi, of Hornsey Road, Holloway, received a parking ticket on April 16 for parking in Hargrave Park, Archway, using a stolen badge.
He then had his car removed when he repeated the offence in Junction Road, Archway, four days later.
When he went to the car pound he found that the stolen blue badge he had used was confiscated.
Mr Sediqi failed to make a plea and was fined £1,400, with £470 costs.
Natasha Hilmi, of Stroud Green Road, Finsbury Park, admitted using a stolen blue badge when she parked her Mercedes on April 24. She was fined £800, with £450 costs.
In a crackdown on blue badge cheats, 329 stolen and forged badges have been confiscated this year. Parking attendants are being trained to spot fake or stolen blue badges.
Lib Dem executive member for environment Councillor Lucy Watt said: “We have stepped up our efforts to catch and prosecute people who fraudulently use the blue badges and will press for the toughest sentences.”