ALMOST 1,000 residents in four years have successfully overturned rulings by council officials not to award them a Blue Badge.

Up to half of disabled residents are now successful in their appeals against decisions refusing them permits.

Charities have warned councils need to be extremely careful not to remove people’s lifelines or put them through unnecessary stress as they try to crack down on abuses of the system.

Up to one in ten applications for Blue Badges are now being turned down.

West Sussex County Council has the highest number of successful permit appeals by applicants, with 654 since 2013/14, while East Sussex County Council overturned 172 decisions over the same period and Brighton and Hove City Council 118 in two years.

However almost 4,000 applicants have been unsuccessful with appeals, including Hove resident Peter Coleman, who The Argus featured last week.

The 74-year-old had a Blue Badge for three years for a debilitating knee condition brought on by an aneurysm but had it removed in 2015 despite not being able to walk more than 60 yards without a rest.

One hundred and ten residents took their appeals even further to the Local Government Ombudsman but with limited success – just ten had their decision upheld or overturned.

West Sussex spent more than £33,000 defending decisions to the ombudsman while East Sussex was recommended to give £500 to a resident in 2015/16 as a gesture of goodwill for distress caused during the application process

James Taylor, head of policy and public affairs at disability charity Scope, said: “Councils must make a real commitment to crack down on abuse of the blue badge system.

“But they’ve also got to make sure they get their decision making right.

“Many disabled people rely on their Blue Badge to live independently, take part in the local community and contribute to their local economy.”

A Possability People spokeswoman said: “For disabled people, a Blue Badge is a lifeline and can mean the difference between getting out to shops, appointments or socialising – or not.

“Applying for disability benefits can be time consuming and stressful, during which time, the person can be left with no means of getting about independently.

“Sadly the actions of anyone claiming fraudulently affects genuine claimants, disabled people who rely on being able to park closely to those places they need to visit.”

An East Sussex County Council spokesman said 96.5 per cent of all applications since April 2013 had been successful and all applications were judged against criteria set nationally by the Department for Transport.

She said face-to-face assessments were carried out with applicants who did not automatically qualify or had insufficient evidence proving they met the eligibility criteria while in a few cases a Blue Badge holder may no longer be eligible under the DfT.

She said: “An estimated 20 per cent of Blue Badges are being misused nationally, having a huge impact on those with a genuine need. Working with Brighton and Hove City Council and Sussex Police, we will continue to crack down on the fraudulent use of Blue Badges.”