DISABLED parking spaces are vital for those who find it difficult to walk the distance to their desired destination.

Anyone who drives knows just how frustrating it is trying to find a parking space during busy periods - especially in the town centre.

Imagine how difficult it must be attempting to locate the few bays dedicated to disabled drivers.

Add to that, those drivers without disabilities who choose to ignore car park markings and leave their vehicles in the special bays anyway and you have a serious problem.

A police operation has caught a group of people who have abused the disabled parking privileges of friends and relatives, including professionals and council employees.

A two-week purge resulted in police catching 44 drivers who fraudulently used disabled parking permits.

One of the people caught is alleged to have used a badge every day for six months, saving up to £1,200 in parking fees.

Even police admit that they were not aware of the scale of the problem until they began the crackdown.

Police now, quite rightly, want to extend their operation and are urging law-abiding drivers to come forward and shop fraudsters on a newly created hotline.

We back this campaign and ask anyone who knows of a driver who is abusing the use of a blue badge to inform police.

Despite the campaign there are still many drivers out there who are parking in disabled spaces - Bolton Council estimates that about a third of blue badges issued are being misused.

It is no good just having a two-week campaign. This purge on thoughtless drivers needs to continue until this abuse is wiped out.

By working together, the council, police, NCP and the general public can ensure genuinely disabled drivers are able to park in the bays reserved for their use.