Blue Badge fraudster from Brondesbury Park caught red-handed

Steven Agbabiaka, of Christchurch Avenue, was left with a court bill of more than £100 after using a stolen Blue Badge whilst in a friend’s car.

The 63-year-old admitted using the badge during a shopping trip in Willesden after council officers from the Audit and Investigations team noticed the one on display had been reported stolen in Camden.

He appeared at Willesden Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday January 24 where he was handed a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £85 court costs along with a £20 surcharge.

Each time a Blue Badge is fraudulently used by someone it deprives the parking space from a disabled person who genuinely needs it.

The council has warned that those taking up valuable spaces for genuine badge holders will be held to account.

Cllr Eleanor Southwood, Lead Member for Environment, said: “Blue Badges are an essential means of helping to make our borough accessible to all, which is why abuse of the badge scheme is so infuriating and unfair.

“We are determined to do everything we can to protect the quality of life for our disabled and vulnerable residents, and will continue to come down hard on and prosecute those caught abusing the Blue Badge scheme.”