A HARTFORD resident is calling for commuters using the railway station parking to be more considerate when parking, after seeing drivers taking up disabled spaces without blue badges.

The 74-space pay-and-display Indigo car park is well-used, with nearby roads subject to double yellow lines, and often fills up early with commuters using the West Coast Main Line.

But rather than find another space, some drivers are taking up one of just five accessible spaces.

Blue badge-holder Lynne Brayne, from the village, was at the station on Thursday when three separate non-disabled drivers parked up next to her.

While one ran off from the disabled space to the platform ‘like Usain Bolt’, another couple she challenged told her they didn’t care as no one else was using the space.

“They said ‘where are we supposed to park?’,” Lynne told the Guardian.

“I told them that the space was for disabled people, but they said they didn’t care and left for their train.

“I see it everyday and it’s a moral issue – before I had my blue badge I never parked in a disabled space.”

Double yellow lines were introduced in Hartford, near the station, in 2014 following a long-running campaign by disgruntled residents for whom on-street parking had become a danger.

When pay-and-display parking was introduced at the end of that year, concerns mounted over a lack of alternatives, with commuters continuing to use side streets.

Hartford station had risen from just shy of 230,000 in 2013/14 to more than 290,000 ‘entries and exits’ in 2017/18. Figures have risen by at least 10,000 passengers in each of the past five years.

An Indigo spokesman said: “We are very sorry to hear about Lynne’s experience at Hartford car park. We are committed to providing spaces for those who need it most. We regularly patrol the sites we manage on behalf of West Midland Trains and anyone parked in a disabled bay without a blue badge will be issued with a Penalty Notice.”

yourviews@guardiangrp.co.uk