A WOMAN told of her shock and disgust after being ticketed because a disabled badge was placed upside-down on her dashboard.

To compound her anger, Sunita Parbhakar was hurrying to Southend Hospital with her family to visit her dad, whom they feared was about to die.

She parked in Prittlewell Chase, but placed her mum Rakasha Prashar’s blue badge upside-down in her haste to get to her dad’s side. The family returned to find a £25 parking fine on the windscreen.

Despite writing to Southend Council to explain the circumstances, the family say officials refused to drop the charge. Miss Parbhakar said: “On arrival at the hospital, my brother, Bharat, was told dad might not pull through, so he contacted family members.

“I collected my mother and we parked in a normal pay-and-display bay with my mother’s disabled badge. With all the stress, she accidentally placed the badge upside down. It was a shock to see the ticket. I can’t explain how shocked we were”

Dad, Som Nath Prashar, collapsed and was taken by ambulance to intensive care on February 15. He is now recovering at his son’s home in Barnstaple Road, Southend, after open heart surgery at Basildon Hospital’s specialist heart unit.

His family say the council must look again at the circumstances surrounding the fine. Miss Parbhakar said: “ We put all the details in the letter, and a copy of the badge, but they said they were unable to cancel the notice.”

A council spokesman said: “I understand receiving a fixed penalty notice would have added to the stress, although our officer would not have been aware of the circumstances.

“I will examine all the facts to see if there are mitigating factors which would merit the notice being cancelled.”