Episode 11 Dom on the Spot

Never before have so many on-the-spot fines

been issued in Britain.

We're going to be following the men and women who hand out over

?30 million worth of tickets every month.

Oops. Round here, they are an absolute blight.

I am up to 104 now.

Wow. That is disgusting.

Just walk away.

'For behaviour that's downright dangerous...'

That was stupid for these sort of conditions, wasn't it?

'..simply selfish...'

Look at the mess you've created in the street.

How is that our fault?

Or just... What is he doing?

Well, plain silly.

What a doughnut.

'We'll be revealing the cost of their bad behaviour...'

?100 fine.

Pays ?260.

Ouch. '..and how this could affect you.'

I'll give him a punch. Do you want to see me kick off?

The police are on it...

What the...?! Sir!

..the parking wardens are on it...

They should be thanking us for being here.

'..and I'M on it.'

Careful, it's a 30mph limit here.

I'm Dom Littlewood,

and I'm On The Spot.

This time...

..there's no hiding place in the battle of the bins.

I'm trying to give you a fixed penalty now or it will go to court.

I'm on the spot with the speed cops...

I'm reporting you for consideration of the question of

prosecuting you for speeding.

..as they find and fine the speeders.

Quite shocking, really.

And there's something nasty waiting for the litter patrol.

There were three needles that were exposed,

so that kid could have easily picked it up.

It's market day in Romford in Havering.

But Kam Paul isn't shopping for fresh fruit and veg.

She's in the market for something else.

Parking fines.

Obviously, if an entire car park in

the middle of a town centre is closed,

all the vehicles that would normally park there are going to

find an alternative, and it will be

the surrounding area that gets busier.

Kam is a traffic warden in North East London.

With so many vehicles and so few spaces,

Kam is armed with the power to issue ?130 on-the-spot fines

to any driver guilty of making the parking problems worse.

You're going to get into more confrontation with people,

which is something you really don't want.

Um, you just want to get through the day smoothly and peacefully.

Because that alone is a miracle in this job.

If you ever have one of those days

where none of the drivers come back and you don't get abuse from anyone,

it's a weird feeling.

You're like, "Oh, my God, I didn't get abused by anybody today!"

And with all those shoppers and traders flooding in, it's car wars.

Parking is at a real premium.

Kam has spotted a car squeezed into a loading bay.

The question is - will this be a fine?

This car has taken the loading space,

which has forced the van to go further into the footway.

So, what's the story?

That space is supposed to be off-limits to cars.

It's only good for larger vehicles who are loading.

Round the rear, Kam spots the car's owner - a builder.

Got ten minutes on that. No.

Sorry.

Why?

Because you're not a van, boss.

Only vans and HGVs are allowed to load and upload in the loading bays.

Is it? And obviously, with your vehicle there,

it's forced that vehicle to come more into the footway.

There's only the one spot for loading.

It's clearly an offence, but will it be a fine?

That's definitely a legit ticket.

Parking on a footway with a car, the builder with the BMW

gets a penalty of ?130.

Unloading my tools, changing the awning.

Got a ticket. Now and again, they get us,

now and again, they don't.

You can't argue with them. It's not worth arguing.

Just pay it.

The reality is that, in this part of Havering,

wardens must always give an offending car ten minutes' grace.

Regardless of whether they're two, three or four hours overdue,

as long as they've bought a ticket.

And it's not long before Kam spots another potential offender.

My friend here has bought a ticket until 10.30.

It is now 11.30.

So it's already had an hour's grace.

But I'm still going to stand here, like the saddo that I am,

and I'm going to give him another ten minutes.

I should be able to issue this instantly, because he's had an hour.

But he's going to get another ten minutes.

Because that's the rules.

Kam waits, the clock is ticking.

The driver returns, but will he find a fine waiting for him?

I'm not getting a ticket, am I?

Well, yeah. You're an hour expired, boss.

Why's that? Look at the time.

10.28, and now it's 11.41.

I got two hours. I put a pound in.

No, you've got a free ticket.

My ticket's here. I put a pound in...

..and I got two pieces of a ticket.

I thought that was the part that I have to show, because it's got my

registration on. The other part is just the receipt, wasn't it?

No, that is a full ticket.

That is what would come out of the machine, sir.

I put a pound in, I swear to God, darling.

You can ask the lads in there.

Honestly.

So, is this driver an hour over the limit after getting a free ticket,

or an honest purchase gone wrong?

He could be facing an on-the-spot fine.

So you're giving me a ticket? No, if you move now...

Yeah, I will move it now. That's fine.

Kam's given him the benefit of the doubt.

Maybe it's because of those muscles.

That driver obviously claims to have put a pound in,

he's claiming that the machine's just taken his money and only

given him the half-hour free ticket.

I'm not totally convinced,

but he did come back within two minutes of my observation finishing.

A lucky one there. Lucky escape.

The market is doing a roaring trade on the site of the town's car park,

so, with 160 less parking spaces today, the locals look elsewhere.

But here, it's permit holders only.

The person can't get confused.

So, if you don't have a permit,

your car is not meant to be here.

And Kam's found an old friend.

This vehicle has a habit of not buying a ticket.

I can assure you, I have probably issued this car about

five times in the last two months.

Wow! This driver could have amassed over ?600 in fines.

That's ridiculous.

But what about this new offence?

They parked in a permit holders only car park.

This repeat offender will have to cough up another ?130.

Even Kam is amazed by the cheek of this driver.

I think it was yesterday.

The driver was actually in the vehicle and I gave him the option

to move on and he said, "I'm not going to move,

"you might as well just give me a ticket."

Hold your horses.

What's this?

This is yesterday's ticket to this vehicle that I issued,

it's got my badge number, it's got the date and then, at some point,

it's left his windscreen and ended up on the floor.

The question is, whether the wind took it,

or was it discarded in disgust?

And this is another ticket from the same day to the same car...

..so the driver's actually had two tickets from yesterday.

For him to have had two tickets,

he must have been removing them from his windscreen.

The person would not get a second ticket in the same location.

In two days, he's managed to get three fines,

which normally wouldn't be possible, unless you had it over three days.

So he's basically got three days' tickets in two days.

So he is on a record-breaking spree here.

Three ?130 fines?

At that price, the driver must have pretty deep pockets.

And, closer to town, the parking issues keep on coming

for eagle-eyed Kam.

We're watching you from over there. The vehicle has been here a while.

So let's take a look at this piece of car crime.

Parked right bang in the middle of a loading bay.

Could this mean an instant ?130 fine?

See, this is absolute appalling parking,

cos, not only has the driver gone right in between the loading bay,

he's forced the van behind to not park legally

and not left enough space in front for anyone to park legally.

So he has taken the entire bay.

And the driver's nowhere to be seen.

Will the owner return to find a fine waiting?

I should give it a ticket, but because the lady is calling

the driver, I'm going to give it a couple of minutes.

Time's ticking. In fact, time's running out for this car.

The owner miraculously appears.

Is this you, boss?

You're in a loading bay. It's for vans and HGVs only.

Kam's being incredibly lenient this time.

No fine.

HORN BEEPS

Almost caused an accident on his way out.

No-one likes getting a parking ticket,

but if you're hit with a pesky parking penalty, you can appeal,

either to the local council or to an independent adjudicator.

This is London's Chancery Exchange,

where the capital's environment and traffic adjudications are heard.

Kalil has come here in the hope that

he can be one of the 50,000 motorists a year

whose fines are overturned.

But that's up to adjudicator Belinda Pearce.

In this instance, the authority, which is Kensington and Chelsea,

are alleging that you overstayed, so to speak,

that you paid to park,

and then the vehicle was seen in the same spot,

but after the expiry of the paid for time.

But I understand you are contesting that, aren't you? Of course, yes.

Kalil has been hit with an ?80 penalty because his car was parked

longer than his ticket allowed, but only by a few minutes.

He claims the enforcement officer apologised for issuing the ticket,

but said his only option would be to appeal.

And in what way contesting?

So, basically, I was attending an interview on the day,

and, um, I had come out to meet the parking official beside my car,

who had already issued a ticket as displayed on my vehicle.

So I challenged him there and then and he was apologetic and said that,

"I'm sorry, I've already issued the ticket,

"there's nothing that can be done now,

"so you would have to challenge it."

Kalil's evidence includes a picture of himself

by the car as the ticket was issued,

but will that be enough to convince Belinda that

he was negotiating with the officer

and persuade her to overturn his on-the-spot fine?

I see that the officer has recorded in these notes that the

paid for time had expired at 2.46.

The penalty charge notice I'm looking at now was issued at 2.53.

And I understand the photographs were taken at, variously, 2.54,

and, in fact, the one in which you are visible is at 2.58,

after the issue of the penalty charge notice.

It's not looking good, I'm afraid, Kalil.

In this instance, whereas the photographs show

it's quite clear that you're present,

but you're present AFTER the time had expired.

Um, the piece of evidence, which is the voucher with the expiry time on,

we can't see.

You, I believe, haven't retained it, or you did, but you've misplaced it.

So we're reliant upon what the civil enforcement officer recorded,

and he recorded that it expired at 2.46.

Now, I have to apply the law, so, on the facts,

the vehicle was parked after the expiry of time.

Let's take a look at the facts.

The ticket expired at 2.46.

The fine was issued at 2.53.

And Kalil was photographed at his car at 2.58.

I'm not sure that's strong enough

for Kalil to get his fine kicked out.

But Belinda's got a surprise for him.

But some law was instituted last year,

which came into effect in April of 2015.

It's regulations made under the Traffic Management Act of 2004,

which say that there must be at least ten minutes left

after a vehicle is parked and properly parked

in as much as paid for parking time.

And so I can apply the law in this case and I can say that the

civil enforcement officer had pre-empted the situation and had

issued the penalty charge notice within that ten-minute period.

And therefore, applying the law to the facts,

I can allow your appeal today.

Thank you very much. Thank you. That's all for today.

There you have it.

The ticket was issued inside the grace period.

Appeal upheld.

Worth coming in in the end, wasn't it, Kalil?

You're obviously a very happy man right now, aren't you? Yeah.

This is your first time. You've been successful.

So tell me, what do you think of the fact that there is this service here

at your disposal?

Well, I think obviously it's very, very important that, you know,

there is an independence there.

If you do take it and you believe you are in the right...

It's worth fighting. ..you have to fight it.

OK. I'll give you a chance now to send a message out to anybody else

who might feel they have got a ticket and it's been unfair.

What would you say to them? I would say definitely challenge it.

How much have you saved today? It would have been ?80.

Right, what are you going to do with the money?

Are you going to celebrate? Absolutely.

Get onto the phone now and make some plans with the missus.

Hey, Lucky Missus. Thank you for your time.

Thank you so much. OK. Thank you. Thank you.

Do you remember that phrase Keep Britain Tidy?

It was a message that did get through to a lot of people,

but unfortunately, there are some out there

who think it's fine to dump your rubbish anywhere that suits you

and let someone else clear it up.

You know? Perhaps an on-the-spot fine might make them

think twice about it next time.

I feel irritated when I see litter.

I feel very annoyed.

It's not a nice thing to do, it's a bad habit.

I don't understand why people do it.

It can upset me.

But what type of littering annoys us the most?

Plastic bags. Empty plastic bottles.

Part-used food.

Banana skins. Food packaging.

Crisp packets. Smashed glasses on the floor.

You don't necessarily want to see that on your doorstep.

So what's the impact on our environment?

We've got a beautiful city here, and they can spoil it.

I think it definitely ruins the community, the way that it looks.

You're going to get rats and mice and everything.

And who are the culprits?

I've seen my mates do it and it's like, you idiots.

I have dropped litter, yes.

Sometimes, I'll go back and pick it up,

but sometimes, I'll think I'll just leave it.

Hang on, just a minute ago, you said it upset you.

Oh, never mind.

I know people who do it and it's just, it's like,

dude, can you not just wait? You've got pockets.

It's children dropping litter and parents perhaps don't see it.

To be honest, it's generally high school children, or young adults.

Have you ever dropped litter yourself?

Yeah. I don't understand the question.

Well, you might understand this.

To fine or not to fine.

That is the question.

I think you've got to come down hard on it.

You should fine them, yeah. Definitely.

Well, they should be fined and all. Very heavy.

Um, it depends really on, like, how substantial the fine is.

Like, if it's ?80 for dropping a piece of litter,

that's completely unacceptable.

That's just robbery, isn't it?

Whereas, I think, what? ?5, ?10, yeah, fair enough.

In Cardiff, waste enforcement officer Steph is on the prowl,

looking for residents who can't be bothered to

dump their rubbish responsibly.

Steph has the power to issue an ?80 on-the-spot fine,

but it seems that some are still willing to take that risk.

Earlier, Steph spotted a pile of rubbish

dumped where it shouldn't be.

So that could lead to a fine.

On the way over to here now, we saw some dumped waste in black bags.

It looks a bit of a mess, actually, so, um...

I'm going to search the bags.

As if trying to match rubbish with its owner

wasn't enough of a headache to deal with,

Steph's contending with another apparently common problem.

We also get a problem with bag slashers at this time of the year.

Bag slashers, you say?

So where people come round and they'll see a lot of bags,

they'll just slash through them to see what they can find.

So those are OK there, but then, you've got this mess here.

Which is completely...

..gross.

Looks like a ransacked jumble sale.

Good luck with that, Steph.

If Steph can find evidence in the pile

linking the junk to a property,

then she could be able to issue the occupants with an on-the-spot fine.

Just clothes, no evidence, so they're clothes from a family.

They could have taken it to a clothes bank

or weighed them in and got money for it.

There's a bag here, there may be something in here.

Oh!

Despite the mess,

Steph's search for evidence towards a fine must continue.

Fly tipping isn't just like tonnes of waste

in a lane, builder's waste.

I'd class this as fly tipping as well.

No, it's just all children's clothes and shoes and...

Eugh! It stinks.

If you could have one wish right now, Steph, what would it be?

I'd love to find some evidence now.

I'm just going to knock their door and issue them...

It's disgusting.

I've got a feeling you're in luck.

With evidence linking the mess to an address...

What number are we on here? ..a fine is looking more likely.

And I know why they've done it.

And Steph thinks she knows the motive.

And they've done it, because I sent them a letter to clear the frontage,

because their front garden was just full of waste,

so they've picked it up and they've dumped it around the corner there.

I'm going to knock the door... and take a pen.

So Steph thinks the owner of the rubbish has just moved the problem

elsewhere and that's still a fine, but will the resident own up?

Are they even in?

DOOR OPENS

Hiya, Cardiff Council Waste Enforcement.

DOOR SLAMS Charming(!)

But Steph isn't put off that easily.

Hiya. Cardiff Council Waste Enforcement.

Just about the dumped waste around the corner there.

Yeah, I found evidence to your property.

Do you want to come and have a look?

This camera-shy fellow isn't taking Steph's word for it.

Do you want to get a brown envelope off the back?

You'll receive a fixed penalty for that, all right,

for dumping the waste. Where is it?

It's in the back of the van in a brown envelope.

Yeah, you have. I've also got...

Well, come on, then.

Yeah, he's gone to get it.

All right, I'll show you the photographs and then I've got the...

All right?

Steph is primed to issue a fine, but it's proving easier said than done.

All right? So all that there, OK.

It's from this property here.

Yeah, it is, yeah.

Because I sent you a letter to clear the front garden and now you've

dumped it all around there.

I've got a photo of all the evidence.

I can either give you a fixed penalty now or it will go to court.

So, let's remind ourselves of what that evidence is.

Black bags dumped around the corner,

a letter found amongst it, pointing to a house

that Steph previously wrote to,

asking the owners to clear out their front garden.

He's saying it's not his waste.

It obviously is. I'm going to have a search through the rest of it

cos there's still some left to search.

But he will get a fixed penalty for it.

So, he's not admitting to dumping his rubbish.

But if the court disagrees, he could be looking at a much bigger fine.

Do you know what would be great? If I have a look at the photos -

the one I took of his front garden - and, if that's in there,

I've got him bang to rights, really, haven't I?

Pull that down a bit. I asked him why it was there,

he said he didn't do it.

Well, who else would have taken his waste, though, you know?

But he won't pay the fixed penalty, and it'll go to court.

So I'll just... I'll just show the judge what I found,

and then it's up to him, then.

So it'll probably end up in court, this one.

But it will be a fixed penalty issued.

In Gloucestershire, I'm on patrol

with traffic cops PC Shelley Holloway

and PC Olly Buxton.

'We're heading to a regular haunt for the local speed demons,

'right in the heart of this rural idyll.

'And it might surprise you to find out it's very near a school.'

Presumably, this is somewhere where it's a bit of a hotspot for people

offending, is it? Yes, so quiet village location, a 30mph zone,

as there's a local school nearby, and people don't pay any attention

to the 30mph limits.

That's a particularly bad area for people to be speeding.

Obviously, there's a school by there.

Yeah, we've had complaints from local residents.

They can't get on and off their driveways safely

without fear of being run down by a speeding car.

'Anybody caught speeding today could be looking at an on-the-spot fine of

'?100 and three penalty points on their licence.'

OK, so this is the road that we'll be doing the speed check on.

We've just passed the village primary school back there,

and it's a 40mph zone.

It's changing to 30 now as we enter the built-up area.

'Outside a school? Well, it doesn't bear thinking about.'

I'm assuming you've been to some horrific scenes

that have been caused by

people either being on the phone or speeding or texting or whatever,

have you? Yeah, most definitely.

How do you feel about that? How does it affect you?

I've got images in my head that will

stay with me for the rest of my life.

Yeah. Um, from scenes of fatal road traffic collisions,

where distraction or speed

or something like that has been involved,

and I worry for my children growing up. It's quite upsetting. Yeah.

Because, underneath the uniform,

every police officer in the country has got a soft side.

You're only human, aren't you? Yeah, we're not robots.

'Time to get to work. Shelley's speed gun uses a narrow beam,

'which bounces off the approaching vehicle and can give

'an accurate speed reading from up to a mile away.'

Now, if you do see somebody approaching from either direction

and they are speeding, what will you do?

So, if they're doing in excess of 33, we'll pull them in.

Anything over 40, then we'd be looking at prosecuting them.

Fair enough.

'It's only a matter of minutes

'before Shelley spots her first offender.'

Hello. Hello. Thank you for stopping.

'Could this be her first fine of the shift?'

Do you know why I've stopped you today?

No. Do you know what the speed limit is on the road?

30. I thought I was doing about 30.

You were doing 39, actually. Was I?

The speed limit starts way further back.

It's painted on the road in red as well.

As you came over the brow of the hill, approaching the cyclist...

Yeah. ..you were doing 39mph.

OK, so let's have a look at the facts of this one.

This guy was doing 39 in a 30 zone.

Bearing in mind there's a school just a bit further along this road,

is it to be a summons, a fine or just a stiff warning?

So that's why I've stopped you.

All right? Now, at that speed,

it's below the threshold for me to give you a ticket,

but it is a 30mph limit.

9mph over is not acceptable really.

OK. OK.

'This chap's escaped a ?100 fine. It must be his lucky day.'

Can I ask you an honest opinion now?

How do you feel about speeding fines?

I think you have to have them.

You know, I mean, none of us like them.

None of us like to get caught,

particularly if we're only doing a few miles over,

but if we didn't have them, it would be chaos.

You said you were 78.

Yeah. Why is it that the older generation are the ones who

are not doing the job properly?

Probably because it's so long since we were at driving school. OK.

You've fallen into bad habits. Yes. OK.

All right, you've learnt your lesson, haven't you? Thanks, Brian.

'But I'm not sure the next driver

'Shelley's clocked, doing 37 in a 30 zone, can use the same excuse.'

Obviously, you got pulled over there. Yeah. Tell me the reason why?

I was going just above the speed limit in a housed area.

OK, a residential area.

When you say just above the speed limit, what were you doing? 37.

In a... Yes, exactly, so it

was a little bit more than just above, wasn't it? Yeah, no, yeah.

How do you feel about the officers

who just pulled you over for doing that speed limit?

I think, I don't know, like, if your parents tell you,

you listen, but if someone else tells you, it kind of like...

it hits home more. Yeah. So, yeah, no. I understand.

Were you aware you were doing 37? I didn't realise I was that over.

I knew I was a little bit. You knew you were speeding.

I didn't realise that much.

It's easy to do.

Had they been a little bit harder with you and they could have been...

I know they obviously could have been.

If you'd got points and a fine, how would you feel?

A bit gutted. I don't think my mum would have been too happy.

Will it change the way you're going to drive, not just today,

but for the considerable future?

It has made me think a bit more, I feel.

So, yeah, definitely.

She was obviously the youngest driver you pulled over today,

only 18 years old. Because she's such a new driver,

she's only had her licence less than a year now,

the penalties could be a lot more severe, couldn't they?

Yes, so, as a new driver, if you accumulate six points within

the first two years of driving, your licence gets revoked

and you have to take your test again.

And you hear it's very hard to get booked in for a test,

finding a space these days, let alone pass it first time.

So it could cost them a lot of money.

If they then rely on their licence for work, they could lose their job.

From her point of view, I don't think

she realises just how lucky she was, does she?

No, and you often find these young drivers,

they get into the car,

they've got this new-found freedom, and they just take for granted

modern technology... Yeah. ..the condition of the vehicle,

but they are the most impressionable people that we meet.

And I think she will learn something from this experience today.

'Let's hope so. But when it comes to speeding,

'there doesn't appear to be an age limit.'

There seems to be an awful lot of people today

who are doing in the high 30s, between 30-39,

I'd say it's probably about one in every ten cars.

It's quite shocking, really.

43.

PC Buxton has caught another speeder.

Let's look at the facts of this one.

This driver has gone way over the threshold, doing 43 in a 30 zone.

Could this mean an on-the-spot fine, or worse?

I'm reporting you for consideration of the question of

prosecuting you for speeding... Right.

..for speeding at 30 with manned equipment.

You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you

do not mention now something which you later rely on in court,

and anything you do say may be given in evidence.

'He's been done.

'It could be a court summons and a possible driving ban.'

Is there anything you want me to report as your reply

as being reported for speeding? No, nothing at all. Bang to rights.

Simple as. Will what's happened today

affect the way you drive from here on? Probably not.

So you'll continue to push your luck whenever you can?

It's not a case of pushing my luck.

Like I've said, I've just come out of the dentist

and not feeling too brilliant and all the rest of it

after my treatment. I just couldn't wait to get home.

Just distracted. So I don't think I'm a bad driver in general,

just the situation of today.

And that was that.

Should you receive a fine now and/or another three points,

how would you feel about that? Pay it and that's it.

'He might think differently if he knew that a young person is

'seriously injured on the UK's roads every ten minutes.'

Cheerio. Bye-bye. Now, there is someone who has just received

what's called a NIT, which is a Notice of Intended Prosecution.

He is almost certainly going to end up with a fine and points.

I can't predict that 100%, of course.

43 in a 30, with a school coming up.

It was a bit naughty. Didn't seem that bothered at all.

Horses for courses, I suppose, as they say.

In Crawley, West Sussex,

the council are determined to combat antisocial behaviour in the town.

We just had a call from the police that there's an abandoned caravan,

I believe. Someone's using it to use needles,

and they leave quite a lot in there.

It's on private land, so it's quite hard to get rid of this caravan.

But someone is using it.

Sam Lucas and Naveed Ur-Rehman are council community wardens.

They've been called to a report of an abandoned vehicle

being used as a drug den.

We get the reports from the people living around there

that there's needles in there again. So..

Sam and Naveed's priority is to reduce antisocial behaviour,

including anything that might pose a risk to the public.

Needles are obviously hazardous waste.

And they can carry lots of diseases, so, we try to...

..respond within half an hour, really,

when we get a needles call to pick them up as soon as possible,

because we don't want anyone touching them.

But it's not the vehicle they were expecting.

Guessing it's this one.

Yes, it's this. It's not a caravan.

It's got needles underneath,

so I need to go and get our equipment

to get them removed, basically.

It's not a caravan. I swear it was a caravan. An abandoned car, or...

Do you want to do it? Yeah.

If Sam and Naveed can find the owner of this car,

then a hefty fine for abandoning it could be on its way.

Do you live here, sir? Yeah.

Right, we just had a call regarding there's used needles in the area.

Yeah. Have you seen people coming here taking drugs

or, like, drinking, other stuff?

Most of the people are drinking when I see them.

OK, yeah. Where do they drink? Right over here? Over there.

It's not nice, because I can see you've got a child there.

If like there's needles over here, so that's really dangerous.

What I can do is, I'll give you a warden's card...

May as well, because if you want to speak to me.

If you see them taking drugs or smoking drugs, just ring 999.

OK. OK? Thank you, sir. Thank you. Have a good day. Cheers.

This abandoned car is being used as a drugs den right underneath

a block of residential flats, but with kids around,

it's urgent that Naveed and Sam make the area safe.

When we arrived, there was a parent with his child walking along.

And,at even a few feet away,

there were three needles that were exposed,

so that kid could have easily

picked it up and stabbed himself without his dad looking.

So it is a safety risk to the residents.

And the state inside the car is not very nice either.

There's condoms.

There's loads of packets of syringes.

But there's none actually in there, I don't think. Empty. Yeah.

It gets worse. The car is unlocked,

so the drug paraphernalia could easily end up in the wrong hands.

Right, done. The fact is, abandoning a vehicle is an offence,

but was the car ditched or stolen and dumped?

They've noted the registration.

If the car's been dumped and not stolen,

they can track the owner through the DVLA,

and a ?200 fine could be on its way.

I will make a note and just pass it over to the abandoned vehicles.

It's on private land, though. Yeah.

They've got the power to remove the vehicle from private land.

Now that Naveed and Sam have made the vehicle safe,

the council clean-up team can get to work,

which is good news for the residents.

Today, I'm in Eastbourne in East Sussex.

Parking, what a complete and utter headache it is.

Especially when you're in a hurry,

and we all know how easy it is to dive

into a spot that we know we shouldn't be parked in,

because we'll only be five minutes in the shop.

But there are some people who aren't that fortunate,

and, of course, I'm talking about the registered disabled.

There are people out there whose job it is to make sure those bays go to

the people who need them.

You might not believe it, but blue-badge fraud is rife.

And a shocking one in five of these vital lifelines is abused.

Can I just have a look at your badge you've got displayed there? Lovely.

I'm joining council investigating officer Mark Jobling.

Who does the badge belong to? Is it your badge?

It's your badge, OK.

'He's scouring the high street trying to stamp out

'the fraudulent use of blue badges.' Thank you very much.

Thank you. Have a good day.

'And it's a serious business as drivers

'who flout the rules could get up to a ?1,000 fine.

'Blue badges are such valuable items,

'some owners don't like to let them out of their sight.' Good morning.

Can I have a look at the blue badge you've got displayed there, please?

Sorry?

Can you actually hand it to me? I actually need to inspect the badge.

'It looks like Mark's got his hands full with this one.'

Here's my identity.

Can I just explain something to you, OK?

I'm lawfully allowed to inspect the badge, which I will hand back to you

after inspecting the badge, OK?

Now, there's two offences.

First of all if the badge is being used by somebody that shouldn't,

and, secondly, it's an offence for you

not to allow me to inspect the badge also. OK?

Do you mind if I have a look at it?

Thank you very much. Does the badge belong to yourself? Yes.

OK. So there you go.

Thank you very much for your time.

That's OK. Thank you for your time.

I noticed then, when the enforcement officer came up and asked to see

your badge, you were reluctant to show it to him. Why was that?

Well, they tell you be very careful with these things,

because people do steal them and have stolen them.

And, um, they then use them for their own convenience. Yes.

Yeah, that's exactly what he's checking out today.

What do you think of the people that might steal the badges or sell them?

Well, I do think it's very bad for people who can't walk and who

desperately need these things or are short of breath, like I get.

And I do find that very sad that people have to do that

and deprive real people of the badges. Yeah.

Real disabled people, yes. Yes.

'But not handing over your badge when asked by an official

'could leave you in big trouble.'

I heard you say it's actually an offence for somebody not to show you

their badge or pass it over to you when you request it, yeah?

It absolutely is. So if she'd said,

"On your bike," what could have happened?

Well, what can happen, we can then look into prosecuting somebody for

failure to allow the badge to be inspected and also

make enquiries in relation to who the badge actually belonged to.

But obviously you don't want to do that. She was just a nice lady being

overcautious, wasn't she? So it all worked out OK in the end.

It worked out fine. I think she was reluctant, understandably, to hand

her badge over, to think thatsomebody might snatch it and

run away with it. It's probably cos you had this ugly moosh behind you,

that's what it was. Well, it's not great, is it?

Well, you said it. I agree with it.

'But the problem is more than just stolen badges.

'It's also about improper use by the rightful owner.

'And the rules are stricter than you might think.'

Can you tell me who the badge belongs to? Me. OK.

Is that your good lady that's just gone off? Yes. OK.

Are you aware that, when you're using the badge,

that you should, as the disabled person, the badge holder,

you should be the one who is actually getting out of the car and

not sitting in the car while your passenger

or anybody does something else? No, I didn't know that.

This chap has a valid blue badge displayed,

but as he's still in the car,

he's not using it properly.

So how to deal with the offence?

Mark is within his rights to confiscate his badge

or issue him with a court summons,

where he could be hit with a fine of up to ?1,000.

So what's the procedure, then? No, you're good.

'This time, it's just a friendly warning.'

Thank you very much for your time. Cheers. Have a good day.

That's a bit of the rules

which that guy, a genuine blue-badge holder, didn't know,

I didn't know, you obviously do, it's your job.

Explain to me what was going on there and what was wrong?

The correct use of the badge is for the disabled person.

Which makes sense. For that disabled person to be able to get out

of the vehicle and be able to access where they need to be.

In this case, technically, the passenger is using the badge,

because she's actually gone off to get camomile lotion for herself,

so the badge is being used by her.

What seems quite odd about that,

he's a guy with a disability, he's parked up, quite legitimately,

he's put his badge up, but the fact that he's got his supposedly healthy

partner or wife to go and get the shopping,

that is actually an offence, isn't it?

If he went off and she was sitting in the vehicle,

there would be absolutely no problem.

He's accessing the facilities, he's using the badge.

But you'd have to be a pretty cold-hearted person to give them any

sort of ticket or reprimand on that, wouldn't you?

I think my biggest concern is that the genuine badge holder is

actually present. But however, we would advise people, you know,

in relation to the correct way of using the badge. Yeah.

'Most blue badges are issued to older people with mobility problems,

'but many younger people need them too. Like this guy, Mark.'

Now, I know you said it's OK if I ask you about your disability,

so what's wrong?

I've got a prolapsed disc, sciatica down my leg.

Are you in pain quite a lot? Yes, all day, every day at the moment.

You have a blue badge, cos I saw you putting it on the car.

Have you ever pulled up at a spot and seen people parked in your bays

that shouldn't be there? Yeah. I've seen them a couple of times

with people with kids trying to get in their cars and not using the

bay properly. Have you ever actually challenged somebody about it?

I have in Tesco's, yeah, in the car park in Tesco.

A gent was parking there and he was in a van and he said he couldn't

park anywhere else, cos there was not enough space and I said,

"Well, that's not the point. It's a disabled bay and I need it,

"cos it saves me having to walk too far."

He weren't too keen on helping me out, so I had to end up parking

in the bay that I couldn't really get out of the door.

So he didn't even have the decency to move? No, he wouldn't move.

So I've had a few experiences like that.

Right now, send a message out there to anybody who uses disabled bays

that isn't entitled to them. Just be more courteous, really.

Think about others, think about what they, you know,

if someone's got to walk a distance and they can't,

be a bit more considerate, really, and look at what you're doing.

Think about what you're doing and what other people need from it.

That's what it's there for.

The disabled bays, in particular, are there for people that need them.

So think about what you're doing.

You heard Mark. Now behave yourself. That's right. Yep.

'Message received.

'As there's so much misuse,

'each badge contains information, like the driver's year of birth,

'so the council can check they really are who they say they are.'

Is your instinct telling you anything's wrong here?

Not particularly. Again, it's a relatively young badge holder,

so what we'll do is ring through and

see if we can match a registration in relation to the badge.

Yeah. Born 1924. That's someone who's 92 years old. That age, yeah.

Should they be behind the wheel?

Is it a good day for you if you don't issue any penalties,

or is that a bad day? I think, you know...

The biggest part of this role is taking away the misuse,

and I view it very much, if we end up not coming across

any misuse in a day, that can only be seen as a good thing.

It would only suggest we're doing our jobs correctly

in trying to eliminate the misuse of the badges.

Yeah, but you sort the problem out, you're out of a job.

I don't think it's going to be eliminated completely,

to be perfectly honest. OK.

There's such a vast amount of misuse in relation to badges,

so I think we'll take some time to completely eliminate it.

You think you're safe for a while? I think I'm safe for a while yet. OK.

'But with blue-badge fraud prosecutions in England

'doubling in three years, I don't think Mark's going anywhere soon.'

That's all for today. Join me next time,

when I'll be with the men and the women on the front line of fines

with more Dom On The Spot.