A disabled mum claims she’s been targeted with poison pen letters attacking her for using a communal parking space – which OAPs in the neighbourhood ‘demand priority because they’re old’. Wendy Robinson, who has cerebral palsy and arthritis, found a handwritten note on her windscreen calling her a ‘crap driver’ which left her feeling ‘disgusted’.
She was criticised for not parking with ‘consideration’ in the letter and was told to give up her driving licence, even though she had parked within the bay and was not blocking any access. Wendy says the man who wrote the note came out of his home and demanded she give him priority and other pensioners ‘because they’re old’.
According to Wendy, who uses crutches and can’t walk more than 20 metres unaided, it’s the third letter she’s received ordering her to move her care from the unreserved space. The 57-year-old claims that five ‘angry’ pensioners regularly berate her for her parking.
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They even complained to the council when she parked on an unused grass verged – that later had bollards erected on it. The mum-of-one also says on another occasion a tyre on her previous car was slashed. She believes parking complaints are borne of pensioners ‘discriminating’ against her disability.
Wendy, from a village near Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, said: “I live in a bungalow because of my disability. All the others [who live nearby] are over 65 and they don’t like people who have got disabilities to live near them.
“There’s five that have told me I’m not allowed to park there and I’ve got to give priority to them because they’re old. They like to think it’s private but it’s not, anyone can park there, there isn’t a sign up to say ‘residents only’.
“I hardly go out of this bungalow, I’m like a prisoner. I’m just drained of it and said to my daughter that I want to move. She said ‘no you’re not mum you’ve got a right to live here’. It’s very upsetting, I’m being victimised. Disabled people shouldn’t need to be like this, we live in a world where it’s all supposed to be equal.”
Wendy, who is unable to work due to her condition, said a woman knocked on her door at 11am on the Sunday morning about where her mobility vehicle was parked so she went to the car park. When she got there she spotted the note and a man popped out of a nearby house and claimed to be responsible for it. Wendy said: “There’s a car park for people who live in the area, but you’re not allocated a space.
“They like to think it’s private and it’s not, the council say it’s first come, first served. The man said ‘the note was from me. You’re parked in my space’. He said ‘I want you moved from here’. I said ‘no I have a right to be here’. He didn’t like it. He told my daughter ‘she needs to give her licence up and the car back’. I’ve been driving for over 30 years.
“There were other people there who said ‘what are you going on with her for?’ There’s nothing wrong with how she’s parked. I wasn’t causing a disturbance with how I was parked. I just have to have extra width for the door because of me being on crutches and he doesn’t like that.
“I never thought old people would treat anyone like this, I was brought up to respect the next generation and to do anything for them. I’m getting backlash after backlash because I am the way I am and it’s not fair to be discriminating against me.
“I don’t expect to be treated the way I am being. He could have knocked on my door and said ‘can you move your car?’ You don’t expect to have a note put on the car. I wasn’t blocking anyone in, it was in a bay where there four other bays.”
Wendy, who lives with 31-year-old carer daughter Hannah Robinson, said she struggles to get around and thinks people who leave anonymous notes are ‘disgusting’.
She said she’s tried to get a disabled parking bay but that the council won’t let her have one.
Wendy said: “I was born with cerebral palsy – I’ve limited walking because I’ve got four sets of arthritis, four prolapsed discs, a curved spine and a degenerative spine, which is crumbling. At the minute I’ve got a broken ankle as well. My ability to walk is severely compromised based on my condition and my broken ankle, I can walk less than 20 metres.
“When I first came here I used to park my car on some grass. Nobody used the grass but these old people complained and bollards were put there. My other car’s tyres were slashed too. I think people who leave anonymous notes are disgusting and lower than low.”
East Riding of Yorkshire Council said that the bollards were erected following several complaints by neighbours regarding Ms Robinson driving over the curb and onto the grass to park directly next to her house. The council claim Ms Robinson was warned not to do so several times by council officers prior to the bollards being erected.
An East Riding of Yorkshire Council spokesman said: “The council is considering a need for a disabled spot in the area mentioned but it is worth noting this spot would be available for anyone with a disabled parking badge and could not be reserved specifically for one vehicle due to it being on-street parking.
“This is being considered currently. The council does not condone any messages being left on vehicles which are found to be distressing in nature and will be writing to residents in the local area to clear up parking arrangements for the area to avoid any future confusion.
“Any further issues should be sent to the council for consideration via [email protected].”
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