A SOUTHAMPTON university student who used his 85-year-old grandmother’s disabled Blue Badge to park for free has been landed with a £5,000 bill.

Mathasun Ratnakumar used the badge to park in Terminus Terrace and College Street.

He was not with his grandmother during any of the five incidents which happened between January and March this year.

The 22-year-old of Whitby Road, Harrow, failed to attend a court hearing at Southampton Magistrates’ Court on Friday. He was found guilty in absence of four counts of making false representations to evade payment of penalty charge notices.

He must pay a total of £5,000 in costs and fines.

Cabinet Member for Environment, councillor Steven Galton said: "For those living with a disability, blue badges can be literally life changing. Southampton City Council takes the misuse of Blue Badges extremely seriously, and will take appropriate enforcement action when needed. It’s essential we maintain the integrity of the scheme and protect valuable parking spaces for genuine Blue Badge holders.

"This conviction highlights the hard work of our Parking Services and Legal teams and will hopefully act as a deterrent to anyone who would consider wrongfully using a Blue Badge."