17,000 fines for disabled parking

17,000 tickets were issued to people illegally parking in disabled spaces

Nearly 17,000 tickets have been issued in three years to vehicles parked in designated disabled parking spaces without displaying a valid badge.

The figure of 16,856 was revealed by Minister for Regional Development Conor Murphy in an answer to a question by SDLP assembly member John Dallat.

It covers the period from the end of October 2006, until 30 September 2009.

The roads service took over responsibility for parking enforcement in NI at the start of the period.

Enforcement services are provided by NSL Services Group (formerly NCP).