Residents have reacted angrily to plans to charge blue badge holders for parking in council-owned car parks.

The newsroom has been inundated with letters from both disabled and able-bodied residents who are against the measures being proposed by Epsom and Ewell Council.

The council is set to save £60,000 if parking fees for blue badge holders are introduced.

The disabled could have to pay normal fees which currently vary from £1.10 per one hour to £3.50 for up to four hours at the Ashley Centre car park About 42,000 cars park free each year using blue badges in the Ashley Centre alone.

A council survey carried out in the Ashley Centre shows 48 per cent of blue badge holders stay for one to two hours, 23 per cent stay for less than one hour, 19 per cent stay for two to three hours and 10 per cent for more than three hours.

If agreed, charges will be introduced on April 4.

Here three residents explain how the proposals will directly affect them.

Ewell resident Sarah Lambert, 31, lost the use of her legs due to health complications following a fall three years ago.

Miss Lambert, who used to be a bus driver and served in the territorial army, is now wheelchair-bound and relies on her mother to drive her to doctor’s appointments and other activities.

She said: “I am angry at these plans because being disabled we struggle a lot more than other people. Not having to pay for parking is something that makes life easier and alleviates the stress.

Everything I do takes double the amount of time it takes an able-bodied person.”

Banstead amputee Claire de Havilland, 57, does her shopping in Epsom and relies on facilities such as the Rainbow Leisure Centre for physiotherapy and networking.

There she meets with other amputees from the Sharing The Epsom Amputees Daily Yomp (Steady) group for a cup of coffee, a chat and mutual support.

She said: “The exercise, physiological support and help I get from going there is enormous. But this takes time. Parking the car, unloading the wheelchair, getting undressed, getting hoisted in and out of the pool, dried off and dressed again can take an hour or more. As being in the pool is the only exercise I get when I can move around and stretch without fear of falling, I don’t want to have to ‘watch the clock’ for fear of being charged for parking.”

Nina Ingold, from Ewell, lost her leg just after her 65th birthday and did not qualify for any mobility help. She had to buy a new car and have it adapted with no financial help, and going out shopping for her can be a painful and tiring experience.

She said: “I have a wheelchair box on top of my car, which prevents me getting to ‘shopmobility’ because of limited headroom, which means I have to use the town hall expensive pay and display car park, with the footpath to the High Street.

“Sometimes my leg is more painful, needing more frequent stops, so I never know how long it will take to visit the bank or building society, without even thinking about any shopping. I would have to allow a very generous time margin when paying for a parking ticket.”