AN osteopath was caught using an out-of-date blue badge to park in Southampton – moments after appearing in court and admitting to using his dead mother’s badge in the same way.

Dr Nigel Graham admitted to using his mother’s disabled blue badge to park in King Park Road car park – 12 years after she had died.

The 55-year-old also admitted to trying to avoid fines relating to previous uses of his father-in-law's blue badge by claiming he was with his disabled relative - but investigations soon revealed he was also dead.

But astonishingly, when he left court after pleading guilty to all the charges, he discovered another ticket on his car after a parking officer spotted his car using an out-of-date blue badge in exactly the same way as the court had heard minutes earlier.

Southampton Magistrates Court was told Dr Graham admitted to one count of not clearly displaying a blue badge in his Mercedes and five counts of fraud by false representation.

The first count relates to the use of his dead mother's blue badge in July last year, when a parking attendant was unable to see the valid date on the pass.

When he challenged the notice on two occasions he claimed he was with the disabled aunt of a friend, known only as Dora, and it was her pass.

But investigations revealed the pass belonged to his late mum Frances Graham, who died in 2002.

As a result of this, Southampton City Council's parking fraud team contacted other council's in the region to see if there were any other penalty charge notices relating to Dr Graham, who has to practices in Bournemouth and London.

They were contacted by Bournemouth Borough Council and Christchurch Council.

To both councils he challenged the notices, relating to 2012 and 2013 respectively, claiming he was with his disabled father-in-law.

But investigations found he had died before Dr Graham was issued with the notices.

He even tried to take Bournemouth Borough Council to a traffic penalty tribunal, claiming the stress of the penalty notice had affected his father-in-law’s health – his father-in-law who had died weeks before the notice was issued.

Prosecutor Andy Forrest said: “This was a deliberate, premeditated and cynical fraud.”

In mitigation, Oliver O’Connor defending Dr Graham, who lives in Bournemouth, told the court that the defendant was ashamed and remorseful.

He added that Dr Graham, who is of previous good character, had used the wrong badges but was with passengers who were disabled and needed the spaces.

However, when Dr Graham left court, he returned to his car, which was parked in a disabled bay, to find a ticket on the windscreen after a parking attendant had spotted the out-of-date blue badge, which was partially covered by a time clock – the exact method he used in the previous cases.

Sentencing was adjourned until later this month.