Abusers of a disabled parking scheme in Bristol escaped without prosecution last year.
Blue badge holders are allowed to park their cars for free in pay-and-display bays and for up to three hours on yellow lines, except where there are restrictions.
Despite Bristol City Council having a policy to prosecute abusers of the scheme, no prosecutions were brought in 2018/19, according to Department for Transport (DfT) statistics.
A Bristol City Council spokesperson said the authority regularly inspects blue badges, with prosecution viewed as a “last resort”.
Of the 16 councils in the South West region, a total of 10 say they will prosecute for violations of the blue badge scheme.
Of those with such a policy, however, only four brought prosecutions - namely, Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset, Plymouth and Gloucestershire.
In Bristol, people were fined instead of prosecuted, with a total of 1,665 penalty charge notices (PCN) issued between April 1, 2018, and March 31, 2019.
A Bristol City Council spokesperson said: "We regularly inspect Blue Badge use as part of general parking enforcement.
“Penalty Charge Notices are given in instances where misuse is seen, and if applicable, Blue Badges can be removed.
“Prosecuting those who misuse the scheme is considered as a last resort however no cases were presented in 2018/19 that warranted court action."
Health and welfare charity Leonard Cheshire's policy manager Sharlene McGee said: "The importance of the Blue Badge scheme cannot be underestimated and it must be protected.
"These permits mean many disabled people can go out independently in their local communities, whether this is for work, leisure, shopping or learning opportunities.
"Councils should be proactive on ensuring the scheme helps those who need it."
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