A MOTORIST who fraudulently used his dead wife’s disabled badge to get free parking has been prosecuted in a landmark case.

Alan Atkinson, 73, was ordered to pay a total of £665 after admitting changing his late wife Jean’s permit and using it unlawfully in a car park off Bishopthorpe Road.

He is the first person to be prosecuted by City of York Council in an attempted crackdown on disabled bade cheats.

Max Thomas, head of internal audit and fraud at the council, said he hoped the case would serve as a warning to others.

Atkinson, of Queenswood Grove, Acomb, pleaded guilty at York Magistrates Court to changing the expiry date on his wife’s badge from 2007 to 2009, and displaying it in his car.

The fraud was spotted by a parking officer, who reported it to the council’s fraud and investigations team.

Atkinson was fined £350 for altering the badge and £150 for using an altered badge. He was also ordered to pay £150 in costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

Mr Thomas said: “The abuse of disabled parking badges is a cause for concern in the York area.

“This is the first such case taken to court by the council and I hope it sends a clear message that the wrongful use of disabled badges will not be tolerated.”

York disability rights campaigner Lynn Jeffries said: “It shows it’s true that the badges are abused, and I find it quite shocking that someone would sit down and alter something and use it unlawfully.

“It’s good that this has gone to court and he has been fined, because it sends a message to other people.”

Coun Richard Moore, the council’s executive member for corporate services, said: “Blue badge fraud and the misuse of blue badges by able-bodied relatives is an issue which is raised with us regularly.

“The council will continue to monitor for frauds and won’t hesitate to take legal action where such offences are identified.”

Last summer, The Press reported how blue badge abuse had become a rising problem for the council.

In 2007/8, 22 cases of alleged fraud were investigated, with ten referred to the police for further action.

Cases included a van driver from London, caught using his father’s badge while delivering in York, and several people using the badges of dead relatives.

Others, such as Atkinson, were suspected of altering the expiry date to continue using the relative’s badge even after it had expired.

The council said investigations sometimes led to other offences, relating to benefits, being detected.