A SIX year old disabled boy from Swindon is receiving letters from the courts and the threat of bailiffs – for not paying a parking fine.

Brandon Blades, of Old Town, is autistic and can’t cope with crowds, public transport or unfamiliar spaces – he has been provided with a car as part of his disability allowance to help him get around.

The car is registered in his name and displays a blue disabled badge which exempts his family from needing a permit to park outside their home.

Despite this, in February a ‘notice to owner’ letter was sent to their house, addressed to six-year-old Brandon, saying he had failed to pay a parking ticket issued to him.

Brandon’s mum, 27-year-old Stacey Wicks, said: “I phoned the council and spoke to the department that deals with parking fines, I explained the situation but they said I had missed the deadline to appeal and would have to wait until I got a letter from the courts.”

Stacey hoped that when the letter came, it would be a simple matter of clarifying the situation and cancelling the ticket.

She explained: “I got a letter from the traffic enforcement office at the courts, I filled it in to say I hadn’t received the original ticket and sent it back to them.

“A few days later they sent it back to me, they wouldn’t process it because I was not the registered keeper.

“I phoned them and explained the situation, the woman asked me if I was trying to be funny, she wouldn’t help me.”

Eventually, Stacey was assured that if she sent in the form again, this time with a covering letter explaining the situation, it could be dealt with.

Late last month she did exactly that, returning the form to the courts with a full explanation as requested – however the saga was not to end there.

“I couldn’t believe it when they sent it back to me, again, saying they had rejected it.

“They said that they could see from my letter that the vehicle was being driven by a third party at the time of the ticket but that the registered keeper, my six-year-old son, still had to fill in and sign the paperwork.”

Unbelievably, young Brandon’s fine has now reached at least £170 and the next step is for the courts to send recovery officers out to get the money from him.

Exasperated with the situation and not knowing where to turn, Stacey again tried to reason with the traffic enforcement centre earlier this week.

For the third time they refused to find a solution to the issue, instead they shifted the blame on to Swindon Borough Council and suggested she try to contact the Local Government Ombudsman to seek a resolution.

After contacting the Ombudsman she was sent back, once again, to the courts within whose jurisdiction the matter now falls but who, after months of floundering, seem entirely unable to resolve it.

A spokesman for HM Courts & Tribunals Service, who run the Traffic Enforcement Centre, said: “We are investigating and will be getting in touch with Ms Wicks as soon as possible.”