Who Dumped the Blue Badges

Parking permits for disabled people, worth £50,000 on the black market, have been found dumped in Derby.

A passer-by discovered the stash of 100 blue badges in a phone box in Kingsway, at the junction with Uttoxeter New Road.

An Audit Commission report published earlier this year found that in some areas the permits were being traded on the black market for about £500 each.

Initial investigations by Derby City Council, which is responsible for issuing and policing the permits, showed they did not belong to the authority.

A spokesman said the matter would be referred to the Department for Transport and the company that prints the badges said it had launched an investigation.

Disability Direct, an information and advisory support service for disabled people in Normanton Road, Derby, said it was concerned about the find.

Chief executive Amarjit Raju said: "This could have potentially added to the problem of abuse of parking bays.

"It's already a nightmare for any disabled person who genuinely needs a parking bay."

A spokesman for the council said serial numbers on the badges did not match its stock.

He said: "Our own badges are stored securely and we have no reason to believe that this batch is ours.

"We are, therefore, passing the details on to the Department for Transport, which has overall responsibility for the blue badge scheme."

The Evening Telegraph has agreed to send the badges to Norwich-based company The Stationery Office, which prints the permits on behalf of the DfT. A spokesman for the company said it was not possible to tell if they were genuine until they saw them.

But the permits appeared to be the real thing as they were in two sealed black plastic bags marked with the company's logo.

Alongside them were two white boxes, also marked with the company's logo, containing clear plastic pouches for the cards.

And the company spokesman confirmed this was how they would be dispatched.

The man who found them, who does not want to be named, said he was angry at the response he received when he called the council about the badges.

"They said they wouldn't collect them and told me not to tell anyone else about what I had found," he said A spokesman for the council said there had been a "misunderstanding".

He said the man was asked to bring the passes to Norman House, in Friar Gate, where the blue badges are issued, and claimed he agreed to do so.

Blue badges are issued by local authorities and they can be used by disabled people to park in designated spaces, whether they are the driver or a passenger.

The council estimated there were around 13,500 blue badge holders in Derby.

Disabled rights campaigner David Hughes, 47, of Kedleston Road, Derby, described people who bought the permits on the black market as the "lowest of the low".

He said the council should have taken the issue more seriously.

"There could have been a theft from somewhere or there could be someone who is very skillful in producing forgeries," he claimed.