A COUNCIL has come under fire for suspending the issue of new disabled bays outside homes.

Blackburn with Darwen Borough highways boss Cllr Phil Riley has put a hold on on authorising the special parking spaces.

A pensioner who needs a bay to help transport his seriously sick wife to and from hospital has condemned his decision as ‘ heartless and arrogant’.

Cllr Riley suspended the issue of new disabled spaces after officials authorised four on one short street near Blackburn town centre in a matter of days.

He is concerned too many disabled bays on a single road cause parking problem for other residents nearby.

Cllr Riley is now reviewing the policy so it can be ‘better managed’.

Michael Davies, from Greenway Street in Darwen, is furious he was refused a new bay by the council after his diabetic wife Janet, 68, returned from hospital after a heart attack and pneumonia.

The 76-year-old said: “We need a disabled bay and we need it straight away.

“Janet is seriously sick, has partial vision and has had a toe amputated.

“She needs to get to hospital and the doctors’ and I can just about get her to the door.

“We have a lot of new neighbours who do not realise we need the parking space outside.

“Cllr Riley is heartless and arrogant. The council is supposed to help people.”

Mr Davies enlisted the help of Sudell ward’s Cllrs Paul Browne and Roy Davies who were informed of the new policy as their request the bay was refused.

Cllr Riley said: “I was concerned to find four bays had been authorised on one short street in just a few days. There are a number of road with several bays which are causing parking problems for other households an residents of other nearby streets.

“The suspension will last a few weeks while we devise a new policy so this issue is better managed.

“In view of the urgency of Mr and Mrs Davies case I will look at it again swiftly.”

Cllr Davies said: “This is ridiculous. If people need disabled spaces outside their homes, they need them now not in a few weeks time when Cllr Riley has finished thinking.”