A DISABLED woman has criticised motorists who park in a marked bay reserved for Blue Badge drivers.

Sue Groves, who was born with a disability and has to walk with the aid of a stick, says as a result she can't find a parking place near her work, in Beaumont Road.

She's received two parking tickets after having had to leave her car on yellow lines.

Ms Groves said able-bodied drivers who were blocking the bay were also preventing other disabled motorists using it too – and when she had approached some about moving their car she had received nothing but verbal abuse in return.

"The bay is for anybody who has a Blue Badge and needs it; it's not just for me," said Ms Groves, aged 63, "but people who go to work in town leave their cars there."

Plymouth City Council today warned that anyone using a disabled bay when they were not entitled to would be liable to receive a fine.

"We would ask the public not to park in disabled parking spaces if they do not hold a valid Blue Badge," a council spokeswoman said.

"It's an issue that we take very seriously and we issue fixed- penalty notices, where possible, to anyone caught parking illegally in a disabled space."

Disabled rights campaigner Bruce Abbott , a member of Plymouth Disability Rights Network, urged the council to actively monitor disabled parking spaces and to step up its penalising of those who used them without permission, including those who used Blue Badges when they were not entitled to.

"It's a major problem," he said. "The council has a duty to ensure Blue Badges are being used by the right person."

He said anyone else who had a problem over access to a disabled bay should contact the city council, the police, or the Devon Law Centre, if they thought a persistent user might be abusing the bay and thereby contravening the Disability Discrimination Act.

The bay near Ms Groves' work is close to where Beaumont Road joins Ebrington Street, and is surrounded by a broken white line and the word 'disabled' written on the asphalt.

However, this has been partially worn away and Ms Groves said this could have confused motorists.

A council spokeswoman said: "The bay in question is due to be repainted shortly to make it absolutely clear to anyone parking in the area that it is indeed a disabled space."