Jobsworth parking warden slapped a £100 fine on a disabled motorist’s car – because her blue badge was slightly obscured
Furious Val Cantrell has accused the warden of being 'trigger happy'
A JOBSWORTH warden slapped a £100 fine on a disabled motorist's car - because her blue badge was partly overlapped by a parking ticket.
Val Cantrell, 70, and husband Paul, 74, were shocked when they returned from a 20-minute shopping trip to find the hefty penalty on Friday, January 13.
Despite the registered disabled sticker being clearly displayed, the couple say the "trigger happy" warden refused to explain why he had fined them.
Parking firm UKCPS later said a ticket showing the time of arrival partly overlapped the blue badge.
They insisted the enforcement officer could not see the 2018 expiry date when he inspected the vehicle at the Carlton Centre in Lincoln.
On Tuesday, Mrs Cantrell, of Dodidngton Park, Lincoln, said: "I think this warden was a bit trigger happy.
"When we got back to the car and saw the ticket I went up to him in the car park but he did not engage with me at all.
"When I pointed out that we have a valid badge, why didn't he come and have a look?
"We'd both had appointments at the hospital and then driven to the Carlton Centre and parked up.
"We ate a sandwich in the car and then went into Lidl to do some shopping - we couldn't have been there for more than 20 minutes.
"On the ticket it says the car was first observed at 2.19pm and the ticket issued at 2.24pm."
The couple must pay £100, which is reduced to £60 if the ticket is settled within 14 days.
UKCPS manager Peter Haswell said: "Our warden was doing his job.
"The badge was displayed but the date was more or less obscured so it's a clear infringement.
"The use of out of date disabled badges is a common problem. But if this badge is current we will cancel the penalty."
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