“WELL it was worth a try” were the words of a woman who misused a blue badge to illegally park on a Bishop Auckland street.

This was one of four Blue Badge offences that Durham County Council brought to Newton Aycliffe Magistrate’s Court on January 16.

On Newgate Street, Bishop Auckland, council parking officers observed Sarah Jones’, of Stephenson Street in Ferryhill, vehicle parked in a disabled bay at about 10am on September 10, 2018.

As part of routine checks a parking officer approached the vehicle displaying a badge and a clock on the dashboard.

On inspection the badge was found not to belong to the driver, Jones, but to another lady who was not present. Jones claimed to the officer that she was meeting the badge holder who she assists regularly with her shopping.

The officer waited for the 39 year-old driver to return with the badge holder, but when the defendant returned she was alone, and claimed to have received a text message saying the appointment with the badge holder had been cancelled.

The court heard that during this time the officer ran a check on the badge, which turned out to be reported lost in 2017.

Officers made contact with the badge holder who confirmed she never had an appointment in Bishop Auckland and that she never gave her badge to anyone.

When presented with the information the defendant said: “Well it was worth a try, she isn’t here. I just popped in to do some shopping.”

Jones did not attend court but submitted an early guilty plea through the post. She was fined £300, and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £30 and £403.13 in costs.

Dave Wafer, strategic traffic manager at Durham County Council, said: “When somebody misuses a Blue Badge to park in a disabled bay it means that the much valued parking bay is unavailable to those who genuinely need to have access to facilities and services.

“These four prosecutions show that we are committed to tackling those who abuse Blue Badges across County Durham.”