Blue Badge fraudsters and persistent parking ticket evaders have seen their vehicles being taken away by a very happy tow truck.

In the last month, Barking and Dagenham Council’s Parking Service has ramped up its on enforcement on people falsely using Blue Badges, and drivers who think it is okay not to pay parking tickets, especially where the offending vehicles are either unregistered or foreign vehicles.

The initiative has seen 27 vehicles removed and taken to the council pound If the owners of the vehicles pay the removal costs and any other outstanding penalty charges owed, their vehicle will be returned, unclaimed vehicles will be crushed.

In addition, during the enforcement clampdown, parking enforcement officers discovered four cases where people were using a stolen blue badge or that of a dead person.

Councillor Margaret Mullane, Cabinet Member for Enforcement and Community Safety said: “The message is clear - if you break the parking regulations, we expect you to pay and if you don’t, our enforcement will come after you.

“And for those people using Blue Badges falsely, I question your morals and wonder why you would stoop so low. For anyone else out there doing this, I hope this proves as a warning as it is something we will not tolerate.”