Fraudster fined for misusing blue badge

A fraudster who used someone else’s blue badge to park his car in privileged positions has been ordered to pay thousands of pounds.

Richard Wellesley-Cole admitted five counts of fraud after displaying a blue badge in his black Porsche when he parked illegally at two sites in the borough.

The 54-year-old was caught using a cancelled blue badge that belonged to another Croydon resident to park a £120,000 car on Altyre Road, Croydon and High Street, Purley in 2016.

After officers issued penalty notices for the two incidents Wellesley-Cole tried to mislead them, claiming the blue badge belonged to him each time.

On another occasion he made a false representation regarding a penalty charge for his black Mercedes parked on Meadow Stile, again claiming the blue badge he used belonged to him.

Wellesley-Cole, of Foxley Lane, Purley, appeared at Croydon Crown Court on Wednesday 4 July where he admitted five counts of breaching Section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006.

The next day he was sentenced to pay costs of £5,061, fined £1,500 for breaching a suspended sentence and told to complete 270 hours of unpaid work and obey a curfew by her honour judge Elizabeth Smaller.

“Blue badges offer a real benefit to people who need them giving users access to key services and connections with their communities.

“By using this badge Wellesley-Cole was selfishly depriving a genuine blue badge user of a space.”

Councillor Stuart King, cabinet member for environment, transport and regeneration

2018-07-12T11:59:20+01:00 July 12th, 2018|Recent news|