Disabled badge scamAn investigation is underway in Manchester into a scam involving Blue
Badges - the passes which allow free parking for the disabled. More than
300 drivers are being prosecuted for using fake passes, or illegally using genuine
ones. The North West has more disabled badges than anywhere else in the
country 聳 18,000 in Manchester alone. Paul Talbot runs Mobilise, a
North West charity looking after the interests of disabled drivers. He knows that
Blue Badge fraud is not a victimless crime. His members have had badges
stolen, while car radios and navigation systems have been ignored. The fraudsters
get a free ride, but disabled people still have to pay. Every year about
6,000 Blue Badges are stolen from the cars of disabled people. These incidents
- where only the badge is taken - reflect a growing black market in the sale and
misuse of these permits. The Blue Badge would save 拢28 a day in the
centre of Manchester - or nearly 拢7,000 a year. Able bodied people
are buying fake badges for about 拢50 and parking almost anywhere they want
... for as long as they want ... for free. Now they are being caught. Manchester
City Council teams are targeting at least 300 drivers who have been either using
fake passes - or misusing genuine ones. The teams operate across the city,
and can spend weeks tracking offenders. In particular they wished to track
down the driver of a Mercedes who they believe has been using the badge of a dead
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