JUST because someone doesn’t look disabled doesn’t mean they are not, a mother of two is reminding people after getting fed up with being judged for parking in disabled bays.

An incident at a fast food restaurant in Haverfordwest was the “final straw” for Tracy Locke from Milford Haven who does not immediately look disabled but is more than entitled to her Blue Badge.

Tracy, who lives with spinabifida and looks “pretty normal from the waist up” said she is approached or scrutinised as she parks in a disabled space or driving towards on most days.

Ten-year-old Phoebe added that she found it “annoying” that people judged her mum and she had witnessed it on many occasions.

People are quick to tell her she shouldn’t be using a space, including when she goes to work as a counsellor at Pembroke Dock and Milford Haven doctor’s surgeries.

Last weekend, a man aggressively waved his arms and shouted at Tracy, who was in the fast food car park with her children, before she showed him her blue badge.

He reluctantly apologised and Tracy took it as an opportunity to demonstrate to her children that you do not need to react aggressively even when someone instigates a confrontation but was left extremely frustrated.

He also chose to remonstrate with Tracy and not two other cars parked without blue badges with male drivers, which she assumes was because he thought she was the easy target.

“I am a full time wheelchair user and have a huge wheelchair box on the top of my car with a wheelchair sign on it but still people attack. Yes I have children and I look normal but why do able-bodied people feel the need to judge when I have been issued by the authorities with a badge?

“People make the assumption before they see the badge, they’ll be shaking their heads. It happens daily in various forms. Even if they don’t actually say anything they can be quite aggressive with their mannerisms.

“The other thing that people need to be aware of is that some disabilities are invisible all together but that doesn’t make them less real or less debilitating. They are just as in need of the space as anyone else with a blue badge.

“Blue badges are not easy to get hold of, they don’t just hand them out.” she added.

Graham Footer of Disabled Motoring UK said: "Unfortunately the lady you are writing your article about is not alone in her experience and we are hearing of this sort of unacceptable behaviour more and more. We believe that due to the rise of disabled bay abuse, caused by the lack of enforcement of the bays and the high levels of Blue Badge abuse and misuse (again due to the lack of enforcement), people are taking matters into their own hands and making judgements they cannot possibly justify.

"Blue Badges are issued for various reasons relating to personal mobility and just because someone outwardly may not look disabled does not mean that they are not a genuine Blue Badge holder. For example someone may have a chronic respiratory condition or heart condition which may not outwardly look obvious. We would ask the general public not to jump to conclusions or make judgements about someone with a Blue Badge, but where they suspect a Blue Badge is being abused or misused, rather than challenging the individual themselves, report it to their local authority or a Civil Enforcement Officer.

"Our advice to those genuine Blue Badge holders who find themselves being judged, do not feel you have to engage with individuals making accusations and try not to get into a dialogue with them. You do not have to justify yourself to them and generally the best thing to do is to move away and dis-engage from the situation in a calm and dignified way."