SELFISH drivers are taking up disabled people's spaces at a hospital car park, making life difficult for those who need to use them, according to a campaigner.

Michael Hartley, who is blind, said he has twice been driven to Westmorland General Hospital, only to find the disabled drivers' spaces near the main entrance occupied by vehicles not displaying an appropriate badge.

Mr Hartley said when this happened, disabled drivers were forced to pay to park elsewhere at the hospital, following the introduction of parking charges at the site last year.

As well as urging motorists not to use the spaces unless they were entitled, Mr Hartley is also appealing to hospital managers to allow disabled people to park for free anywhere on site.

On one occasion, Mr Hartley and an officer from the South Lakeland Voluntary Society for the Blind were on their way to a meeting at the hospital when they found the disabled drivers' spaces were all occupied. Two of the cars did not have an appropriate badge.

Mr Hartley said because he was blind, he was always driven to WGH and the driver would then help him inside, so previously he had not used a disabled person's parking space.

However, since charges had been introduced, Mr Hartley said he felt entitled to use the free disabled person's provision.

"If the designated disabled parking spaces are full, then anybody coming with an orange or blue badge who parks in the non-designated areas will be charged."

Mr Hartley said it was impossible for attendants to patrol all the spaces all the time, and that the attitude of drivers made him "angry".

"It's a problem everywhere," he said.

Mr Hartley has written to Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Collins, who has contacted hospital managers. The MP offered to speak to local councillors who would be responsible for deciding whether WGH could expand its car parking.

Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust director of facilities Martin Ellam said there would be "teething problems" with any new parking scheme, and he would be pleased to hear from the public about any specific difficulties.

"We will continue to look at illegal parking in parking spaces and we will check that out to see if that is the case, and check if people are parking in disabled spaces who haven't got disabled badges. We would be looking to encourage people not to do that."

The trust's policy on charges would remain unchanged. He said the trust wanted disabled people to use the free spaces provided for them, and managers would review the mix of spaces to ensure they had achieved the right balance.

February 7, 2003 11:31