WATCH: Driver gets parking ticket during court case for using dead wife's disabled badge

Perry Grant admitted using his 58-year-old late wife Malee’s badge in her motability VW Caddy after she died on February 17 last year.

But when Grant emerged from Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court he found his Mitsubishi had been ticketed, telling The News he did not have change to pay the parking fee.

The court heard Grant, 57, was confronted by parking enforcers after parking on double yellow lines on May 15 last year outside his home in Bridgeside Close in Landport.

Jenny Ager, prosecuting for the council, said he wound down the window of his car and said: ‘I take it some old bag has moaned about the parking.

‘It’s because my wife has died and I’m using her badge.’

Asked to return it, he drove away after saying: ‘No way, I’m going to keep it.’

The next afternoon enforcers returned again and saw him parked on double yellow lines, again with his wife’s blue badge on display and he was cautioned.

Ms Ager said: ‘Despite having private off-road parking he parked on double yellow lines as parking was tight.’

Grant had previously been seen parking in a disabled parking bay in Surrey Street, Landport, on March 15 when he said he was going to the bank. And he was given a ticket on March 25 for parking on double yellows in Surrey Street. Grant was asked to attend the civic offices for interview but cancelled on June 19 and on June 21 told council enforcers his dog was ill so he could not attend.

The court heard Grant has a ‘significant amount’ of old previous convictions, a number of them related to fraud.

In his defence, the court heard Grant had organised the return of his multiple sclerosis sufferer wife’s state-provided motability car.

He wanted the badge to try and claim back the parking tickets the car had accumulated, the court heard.

Outside court, Grant told The News: ‘I’ve been persecuted because my wife has died, I’m paying £2,000 of tickets which I pay monthly to Portsmouth City Council.’

He added: ‘Saying that I was fraudulently using my wife’s badge is absolute rubbish because my wife had died and I was using it on her motability car outside my house waiting for motability to collect the car.’

Grant said he was being regularly ticketed for parking the car on double yellows while he was waiting for it to be collected.

The court heard he received a formal warning after being spotted alone using the disabled blue badge in December 2013 in Osborne Road, Southsea.

He claims he was shopping for a turkey with his wife but she felt ill and went home with her carer, leaving him alone with the car.

Grant pleaded guilty to one charge of possessing or controlling an article – the blue badge – for use in fraud.

He will be sentenced by city magistrates on March 29.