A disabled father-of-three says he was left stranded in his mobility car in a retail park for nearly three hours after it was clamped by bailiffs working for Hackney Council.

Peter Weaver, 52, has since received an apology from the council over the incident which breached its policy not to clamp or tow away vehicles displaying a blue badge.

Mr Weaver received a parking ticket when he went to speak to Hackney Homes about his mother-in-law who was moving out of social housing in the borough near to his home in Kent.

As the parking bays were full, he decided to park in a residents-only bay – as many other areas allow, he says – but was fined £120.

He said he appealed the fine but the council insist it was not received and obtained a warrant to retrieve damages from Mr Weaver.

The council’s contractors NEWLON clamped Mr Weaver while he was at Lakeside shopping centre in Essex on November 11 at 8pm.

He was left stranded at the car park for nearly three hours while a family member drove out there to pick him up.

He said: “It was totally disgusting. I’m in a wheelchair so I could not get out of my car to challenge the clampers.

“I was in the car park when the guy clamped the car.

“I was left in the vehicle. I had to wait two-and-a-half hours in the vehicle until my son picked me up.

“I felt intimidated because the guy was a certified bailiff and would not listen to reason.

“For one, they are not allowed to clamp disabled vehicles and the council is not allowed to clamp vehicles for penalty charge notice (PCN) tickets.

“I rang parking services and they told me they clamp disabled blue badge vehicles in motability vehicles.

“I don’t think Hackney Council is aware of the new legislation.”

Cllr Feryal Demirci, Hackney’s cabinet member for neighbourhoods, said: “The penalty notice was correctly issued for parking in a residents-only parking bay, which blue badge holders or mobility vehicles are not entitled to do. As we did not hear from Mr Weaver we had no other choice than to pass the matter to our bailiffs.

“The council has a policy of not clamping or towing away vehicles displaying a blue badge, or motability vehicles. We apologise for any misunderstanding and we are working with our contractors to avoid any repetition.”