Student nurse, 26, fined after being caught using 'severely' disabled person's lost blue badge

A student nurse has been fined after being found to be illegally using a disabled person's lost blue badge.

Nuru Hassan, 26, of Grovelands Avenue, Wokingham, was caught using the disabled badge to park in Reading on two separate occasions in March this year by council officers.

The badge in question had been reported as lost in 2021 by the mother of a severely disabled man when it did not arrive at his residential care home in Buckinghamshire.

Hassan, a third-year student nurse, was charged and convicted of two counts of fraud by false representation, under Section 2 of the Fraud Act, and one count of being in possession of an article for the use in connection with fraud, under Section 6 of the Fraud Act.

At Reading Magistrates Court on Friday 29 September, she pleaded guilty to all three charges and was made subject to a community order for 18 months, ordered to complete 15 days of a rehabilitation activity requirement and 100 hours of unpaid work.

She was also ordered to pay the prosecution costs in the sum of £3,532.23, plus a victim surcharge of £114.00.

Reading Borough Council climate strategy and transport councillor John Ennis said: "The disabled persons parking scheme is an essential and valuable scheme for those who make use of it, allowing them to park closer to their homes or destinations.

"Misuse of the blue badges in this way undermines the system and takes parking spaces away from those who genuinely need them.

"The Council takes all suspected fraud and misuse of Blue Badges extremely seriously and will investigate all reports made, working alongside the police, parking enforcement officers and other councils.”

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