'Blue badge cheats will not beat me'

Pushing a pair of sunglasses up his face, he stares intently at his latest target jumping into a black Mini.

"I've been following that one for months," he whispers.

After hours of waiting and hiding, soon he will pounce.

It may seem like a scene from a spy novel, but this drama is being played out on the streets of Edinburgh.

Gordon Catchlove is the Capital's lone blue badge fraud investigator, dedicated to hunting down those who misuse a disabled parking pass. The 45-year-old is willing to dress up, change his car every six months and even bypass shaving for a few days if it means collaring the residents who use a relative or friend's badge to park anywhere and for free around the Capital.

As he hides around the corner watching the woman he suspects of using a relative's badge to park on a single yellow line, Gordon reveals that he has been tracking her movements for over a month. "I spotted her last year, but she caught wind of what I was doing and disappeared," he sighs. "She's very crafty. But then, by chance, she parked in front of me one day earlier this year. I've been following her since, and I'm pretty sure she's not the owner of that badge. We're now gathering video evidence to prove it."

Despite being the only fraud officer of his kind in the country, Gordon works relentlessly to try to pin down bogus badge users. Over the past two years he has nabbed more than 60 fraudulent disabled badge users, who are then fined.

But his successes are near-to nothing if you consider that Gordon believes that up to 70 per cent of blue badges on display around the city are not used by their rightful owner.

Such abuse costs the city an estimated 5,700 per badge per year in parking fees and tax.

Gordon hopes things will soon change. In a few months the council will produce a consultation paper on expanding Gordon's powers, increasing fines, and providing extra staff to tackle the problem. At the moment, Gordon doesn't have the authority to inspect or seize a badge – he must work with the police after he has detected fraudulent activity – but this could change under the proposals.

As Gordon surveys a cluster of cars parked on St Giles' Street, he spots James Cameron, 70, from Leith, who is stooped over his blue badged car. After Gordon flashes his identity badge, the elderly gentleman's eyes light up. "I've been wanting to talk to you," he says sternly. "This badge business is a joke. People who shouldn't be using a badge are always taking spaces. Whenever I go to the supermarket, I see people in disabled spaces who shouldn't be there."

He adds: "I also think this rule about issuing badges every three years isn't good policy. Badges should be issued every year. I could be dead in a week."

Gordon explains to Mr Cameron that he is currently going around Edinburgh's businesses ensuring that they maintain their disabled parking. But the length of time that a badge should be valid is a more contentious issue. Gordon explains: "It's a balance between creating extra administration work and making sure that people don't have the opportunity to misuse a badge. If we asked people to renew their badges every year, it's going to make a lot of work in an already understaffed area, and it is perhaps a little unreasonable for those with a terminal illness to keep applying.

"On the other hand, if they're valid for three years it means there's a risk that some individuals are going to have a blue badge without cause. Others don't hesitate at abusing the system – they even use their dead relatives' badges."

He shakes his head, saying: "I found one guy who was using his dead father's pass. He claimed his dad was still alive, but I had a copy of his death certificate. Now it looks like he's using his niece's pass too."

Today Gordon has a few tip-offs to follow up. He has been told by one member of the public that an able-looking woman parks her car on Kerr Street every week before disappearing for at least eight hours at a time.

Parking up, he spots the potential offender's vehicle – but it could be a very long day. He says: "I usually end up waiting for three hours for the person to come back. While the tip-offs are very useful, they take a hell of a lot of investigation. I can't get the police involved until I'm pretty sure that the abuse is going on, so I have to wait for the person to come back – or to see if they're picking a disabled person up – before I can take it any further.

"At times I can be looking at only a few vehicles a day because it's so drawn-out."

There are people who can help – and are helping – to make his job easier: the general public. So far this year Gordon has had 54 tip-offs, and more are coming in by the day. Currently he's tackling seven active leads and has a dozen more to chase up.

He says: "There isn't enough time in the day to deal with them all at once. I'd like 20 extra staff if it was possible. For now, though, I'm relying on the public and CCTV to tie offenders down."

Anybody who believes they are aware of blue badge abuse can e-mail [email protected]

22,000 IN USE ACROSS EDINBURGH

Blue Badges allow parking concessions for people with disabilities who travel either as drivers or passengers.

There are currently 22,000 blue badges in use across Edinburgh.

Around 11,000 qualify for the badges because they have been assessed as having walking difficulties, a permanent disability or a terminal illness.

In Edinburgh, anyone over the age of 85 also gets a blue badge automatically.

It is thought that around 70 per cent of blue badges in use in the city centre at any one time are being misused.

The badges can only be used if the disabled holder is driving the vehicle or is being dropped off or collected by someone else.

Anyone caught abusing a blue badge permit can be fined between 60 and 150.