A WOMAN who has a disabled son has complained that a fastfood chain has not addressed a problem with misuse of its disabled parking.

Hitchin resident Helen Ruggles visited McDonalds’ Nightingale Road restaurant, based in the town, in September and found a parking space reserved for Blue Badge holders had been taken by a member of staff.

The 43-year-old raised the issue with staff members at the time and complained to McDonalds’ customer services department.

After waiting over a month for a response, Mrs Ruggles contacted customer services again earlier this month and received a letter of apology, dated September 27.

Since the incident, Mrs Ruggles has seen that the disabled parking bays have been used by non Blue Badge holders.

She said: “I’m not the type of person to make a nuisance for the sake of it but there were no spaces for us to park.

“It’s a right of the disabled to park there and I worry that people with severe disabilities have to walk from far away.

“It’s disgraceful.”

A spokesman from McDonalds said: “It was wrong for a staff member to park in a disabled space, and when this complaint was made in September we apologised thoroughly at the time.

“Having investigated the incident, we are satisfied it was a one-off.

“We of course apologise again to the customer for the inconvenience caused.”

The spokesman said no further complaints had been made so they were unable to comment further.

In an attempt to give those with disabilities greater support, along with four other mothers, Mrs Ruggles is in the process of setting up a cerebral palsy and epilepsy support group (C.P.E.P.S).

A steering group will meet on December 14 to discuss its future plans and all are welcome to attend.

Call 01462 456329 or email cpepsgroup@gmail.com for further information.