‘Disgust’ at blue badge theft in Ilford
Waleed Butt with his father Haji Ahmed and parking fine - Credit: Archant
A man has hit out at “disgusting” thieves who stole his 90-year-old dad’s disabled parking badge from his car window.
Waleed Butt, 52, who was taking his dad out for lunch, parked in Oakfield Road, Ilford, and was issued with a penalty notice after a traffic warden spotted the car with a smashed window but no blue badge or ticket.
He says the thieves targeted his car purely for the blue badge as they left his iPhone, which he had forgotten to take from the blue Ford Fiesta, behind.
Waleed said it was a big inconvenience to him and his upset dad Haji Ahmed, from Ilford, who has suffered from heart failure and needs a wheelchair to get around.
“It’s just unfair that disabled people are being targeted in this way – it’s disgusting,” said Waleed, of Chigwell, who has to fork out £350 to repair the broken window.
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“It’s not only us, it could happen to someone else too.”
The theft on Tuesday of last week, comes just weeks after the death of Haji’s wife.
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Waleed is calling on the council to install more CCTV and is appealing against the £60 fine.
“I think we have to make the streets more secure,” he said.
“Why should we have to worry about where I park? There should be more cameras in place.
“Why didn’t the traffic warden notify the police instead of giving me a fine?”
A council spokesman said: “While the council cannot comment on individual cases we would say that parking officers while on patrol would be completely unaware of whether a blue badge had been stolen from a car, even if there was a broken window present.
“Such a situation could just as likely be an act of vandalism or theft of another item from within the car. It would be wrong of them to make assumptions.”
He added: “Redbridge has one of the most advanced council CCTV systems in the country.”
No arrests have been made and police inquiries continue.
Anyone with information on the theft can call police on 101.
