Disability campaigners urge City of York Council to drop 'discriminatory' blue badge ban

Video report by Jon Hill.

Campaigners in York say planned changes to blue badge rules in York will effectively bar people with disabilities from the city centre.

The council plans to permanently ban those with a blue badge from parking on all pedestrianised streets in the centre, to protect the city from potential terror attacks.

The plans, which are due to be voted on at a meeting tomorrow, have sparked outrage from disability campaigners in York.

Helen Jones is a wheelchair user in the city and says the council is putting yet more hurdles in front of people like her.

She said: "To be told by the city that we live in that we aren't worthy or aren't important enough to be able to access the city that we live in and that we pay taxes in, it's heartbreaking."

Helen, who uses a wheelchair, says the new ban is 'heartbreaking'

Big barriers have been erected to block traffic along some of York's footstreets, to stop any potential terrorist attack in a vehicle.

Neil Ferries from City of York Council said: "The advice very clearly from the police is that there is a terrorism threat in the UK. And we've seen that unfortunately manifest itself over the weekend in Liverpool. But to protect the city, that has impact, particularly on blue badge owners who use their vehicles as a means of access.

"And clearly under our equalities duties and our human right responsibilities we've got really take seriously those impacts and understand them"

Blue badge holders are currently allowed to park on some pedestrianised streets in York at certain times

The council says there will be some disabled parking bays near the centre, but campaigners say if they lose the vote tomorrow, the row could well end up in the courts.