Since posting the original of this, I have become less angry and more rational. I have now made a formal complaint to the West Devon Borough Council and have sent a copy to every Councillor. Below is my toned down complaint.

To: All West Devon Borough Councillors

I was told, while paying the bill, at Waitrose in Okehampton, that my wife, who has a disabled driver badge, was not now exempt and must have a parking ticket.

Apart from the fact that it would have been polite to inform her of this Council policy change, I would like to point out why this policy is faulty and why I am submitting a formal complaint.

Why do mobility disabled drivers get a disabled driver's badge? What are the criteria? Is the badge granted on economic grounds, on the ability to pay? No, it is based on the grounds of lack of mobility and involves certification by members of the medical not accounting profession.

I am not arguing that disabled drivers should park free of charge. In a rural community, everyone, not just the disabled, have the same need to use a car to travel. In any case, as you well know, no one pays to shop at Waitrose, you get your ticket money refunded at the check out!

So, what is the effect of this Council ruling?

Drivers who are mobility disabled ( meaning that they can't go very far ) are being forced to leave their cars, go up to fifty yards to a pay machine and back to their car, to affix the ticket, even before they can start to try and get round the store. This is no problem to the fit. It is the disabled that are being abused by this ruling!

If you need the money that badly, try to think of a way that you can get Waitrose to pay you directly or make the disabled pay, that is only fair, but think of a way to do it that does not require the mobile impaired to be as mobile as any other person . If they only could be as mobile, believe me, how happy they would be.

I know you will argue that some people cheat the system or that some disabled people get others to drive them. You will say that the disabled were told, because you put a small advertisement in the back of the local newspapers. Don't bother. I invite you to tie your legs together or strap a ten kilo weight to your legs and then go and park legally at Waitrose.

Out of interest, I entered "disability" into the search engine on your website. It came back with 2 entries, one on getting someone to carry your dustbin and one regarding a February meeting about the access to buildings implications of the Act. I looked at the subject index under "D" and found Dog Bins and Dead Animals but no Disability. I looked under "E" for Equal Opportunities - guess what? Nothing!

My formal complaint is :

1. You are improperly abusing the mobile disabled by forcing them to attempt to walk to the ticket machines and back.
2. The West Devon Borough Council has little regard for the disabled, having no publicised (if existing) Disability Officer, Committee or Policies.

You really must be looking forward to the next local elections.

Peter Kilgannon