Woman Used Dead Mother's Blue Badge to Park in Shepherd's Bush
Council employee could now face the sack
Case was heard at City of London Magistrates' Court. Picture: Google Streetview
November 24, 2022
A Hounslow Council worker could lose their job after using her dead mother’s blue badge to park.
Afshan Ali, 52, was caught after a Hammersmith and Fulham inspector found her car on Sterne Street in Shepherd’s Bush with the badge in the window on 7 May – nearly a year after her mum Surria Ali passed away in June 2021.
Her car was towed and taken to a compound nearby. The mum of three, who lives on Manor Avenue in Hounslow, was then caught when she arrived to pick up the vehicle.
Ali will now have to pay £645 in fines and costs and she could even lose her job working with special needs children because she is subject to strict DBS checks.
City of London Magistrates' Court heard on 24 November 24 how Ali had been regretful when she was interviewed by Hammersmith and Fulham Council after the incident.
Defending Ali, her lawyer explained she lives with her three children and earns just £700 a month. He said: “She will likely lose her job because of advanced DBS checks. There is no doubt she will struggle financially.
“Her mother died in June 2021. She was the sole carer along with her family. The passing of her mother impacted her severely.”
Hammersmith and Fulham’s prosecutor Champa Gurnami told the court, “[Ali] used the blue badge even though it had already expired and it was in her mother’s name.” Ali pleaded guilty and the court heard she had no previous convictions.
A magistrate ruled that she should be fined even though it would threaten her job. The magistrate told Ali, “The fine has been reduced because you pleaded guilty. It would have been nearly £200. We have reduced it to £107 that is a very low-cost considering you were using the badge.”
Ali will now have to spend the next 11 months paying the fine back. She will have to pay £60 a month.
A Hounslow Council spokesperson said, “We are disappointed to hear a staff member was fined with blue badge fraud yesterday and the council will now be following its usual internal processes.
“The blue badge scheme is a lifeline for disabled people and it is genuine blue badge holders who suffer as a result of fraudulent use. As a Council, we have a zero-tolerance approach to anyone who undermines this scheme and will be taking the necessary steps related to this case.”
Megan Stanley - Local Democracy Reporter