MOTORISTS are being warned not to abuse the blue badge parking scheme.

Since April 2015, Reading Borough Council has successfully prosecuted nine people for fraud.

The authority removed a total of 17 blue badges from circulation because of misuse during the same period.

Councillor Tony Page, deputy leader of the council, said: “The blue badge scheme is in place to help provide freedom for people with limited mobility by allowing them to park close to their homes or their destination.

"Blue badge misuse undermines the system and takes spaces away from those who genuinely need them.

“Reading Borough Council regularly carries out successful prosecutions for blue badge fraud."

A woman was recently fined £120 after she used her mother's blue badge to park in the town centre, following a council investigation.

Cllr Page added: “Prosecutions of this type are of course resource intensive, in terms of gathering the necessary evidence and proving intent, and can take many months to get to court.

"The council will also remove inappropriately used Blue Badges from circulation and where necessary fine those who are found to be misusing a blue badge.”

The council was recently listed among a group of authorities which recorded no prosecutions in 2017/18.

Out of 152 English local authorities, 94 (62 per cent) did not pursue anyone for abusing the blue badge scheme, according to the Department for Transport.

Councillor Tony Jones, lead member for Adult Social Care, said: “The blue badge scheme is for people with disabilities who need to park closer to their destination.

"Blue Badge misuse undermines the system and takes spaces away from those who genuinely need them.

"Thanks to the hard work of the teams involved, we are sending out the message this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated.”