A DISABLED woman has branded council officials "heartless" after they rejected her appeal over an parking ticket.
Single mum-of-two Jane Hewlett was issued with a penalty notice the day after a friend had driven her home to Brough from a session at the severe pain clinic at Castle Hill Hospital in September.
Unaware her friend had forgotten to put Mrs Hewlett's disability blue badge back on display after parking outside her house, Mrs Hewlett only discovered the ticket after it was issued by a council traffic warden the following morning.
Mrs Hewlett, 41, who suffers from fibromyalgia and arthritis, said: "Because of my condition, it takes me a while to get properly moving in the morning. By the time I got out to the car that day a warden had given me a ticket.
"There is a restriction on our street from 10am to 11am to prevent commuters using Brough railway station from parking there.
"Unfortunately, I did not get out to my car until it was too late and didn't realise my blue badge had not been on display."
Mrs Hewlett claimed officials at East Riding Council had ignored her medical issues in her appeal against the penalty notice.
"I explained everything that happened in my appeal letter but it still got thrown out.
"It seems a particularly heartless thing to do.
"To make matters worse, the original penalty of £35 has now been increased to £105 because I refused to pay it.
"They won't even accept payment in instalments which makes it even worse for me because I can't work because of my condition and have to rely on benefits."
John Skidmore, head of streetscene services at East Riding Council, said: "The council is unable to comment on individual cases.
"However, in general terms, if a blue badge-holder does not display their badge and parks their vehicle in contravention to local traffic regulations then they are likely to be issued with a penalty charge notice as the civil enforcement officer will not know that the motorist concerned is a member of the blue badge scheme.
"If the individual appeals, as they have the right to do so, the facts will be examined as part of the appeals process, which is set out in legislation, and it will either be upheld or rejected, based on the facts.
"The full appeals process is made clear to anyone in receipt of a penalty charge notice."
The Mail recently revealed how almost 300 motorists a week are being fined for parking illegally in the East Riding.
The council took over responsibility for on-street parking enforcement from Humberside Police 12 months ago.
Over the year 5,259 tickets were handed out – more than the total number issued by the police in the previous three years.
Council leader Stephen Parnaby said no one liked getting a ticket but claimed there had only been a small number of complaints about the wardens.
