A construction worker made a "mockery of the system" by fraudulently using a blue badge to park in a disabled bay directly outside the city council building.
Benone-Constantin Maxut paid £250 for the blue badge, Southampton Magistrates' Court was told, and then lied when he was challenged by a parking officer who had discovered it.
He first said it was given to him by the badge holder, then gave a fake address and then claimed his boss had given it to him to help with work, saying he did not know the blue badge system, the court was told.
Maxut, 49, pleaded guilty to using a parking device with the intent to deceive on February 5.
Sian Russell, prosecuting on behalf of the Southampton City Council, told the court that the badge, which had a valid reference number issued in Kent, had been flagged as being sold.
A parking officer outside the Civic Centre, where the city council is based, noticed a badge on a Ford Transit van and realised it was counterfeit on May 26, 2024.
When Maxut returned to the van, he was challenged by the officer.
Maxut claimed the badge had been given to him by the badge holder named Mary, and gave an address that does not exist.
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Maxut later claimed his boss had given him the badge to help with work, saying he did not know the blue badge system.
WhatsApp messages on his phone indicated that the badge had cost £250.
Leah Rose, mitigating, told the court that Maxut had panicked in the interview, and that is why he lied.
She said: "I have spoken to him today, he's now pleaded guilty. Completely accepts that what he has done is completely unacceptable.
"He knows he should not have been using it."
Chairman of the bench, Ian Hobin, said: "We have heard everything today, and it is the bench's belief that you knew that this blue badge was a fraudulent piece of paper and that makes you complicit in this offence.
"Any reasonable adult, such as yourself, should be aware that blue badges are there for a purpose.
"To make a mockery of the system and park in these spaces; it is just not right."
Maxut, of Benson Road, Grays, Essex, must pay a £253 fine, a court surcharge of £101 and court costs of £566.30.
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Councillor Alex Winning, Leader of Southampton City Council, said: “Southampton does not tolerate blue badge fraud.
"Not only is it dishonest, but it also prevents those who need the spaces from using them.
"Our Civil Enforcement Officers are trained and equipped to identify fake badges and catch those responsible.
"I hope this conviction will emphasise the seriousness of blue badge fraud and reassure genuine blue badge holders that we will take action to ensure that Southampton is safer and fairer."
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