THIS is the moment an overzealous traffic warden swooped to dish out a ticket to an elderly man – even though he had a blue badge for disability.

The warden pounced on the pensioner outside a shop in Clifftown Road, Southend.

The infirm elderly man had gone around to the passenger side of the car to help his wife up from her seat and tried to get back to his side to ensure their blue badge was correctly displayed.

However, the warden issued him with a ticket, much to the anger of witnesses.

A `woman, who took pictures of the drama and asked not to be named, said: “It was disgraceful.

The elderly man couldn’t move very quickly. He was trying to get to his disabled badge in time to stop her giving him a ticket, but she didn’t care. She just carried on regardless. People watching it got really angry. One man stopped to help the man, but he still couldn’t get to his badge in time. I’ve seen this warden before. She’s always like this. She pounced on this poor old guy within seconds of him stopping his car.

“It was absolutely heartless to carry on giving him a ticket when she could see how he was struggling.”

A spokesman for Southend Council said: “Our officers have a difficult job to do and need to apply penalty notices consistently and fairly.

“In this instance, an enforcement officer approached a vehicle which was parked in a loading bay, potentially blocking deliveries to nearby shops. The officer learnt from the passenger that the driver, his wife, had gone shopping. The officer explained that, although they had a blue badge, they were not exempt from restrictions to parking in loading bays. The officer agreed to cancel the penalty charge notice if his wife returned before the notice was issued.

Unfortunately, she did not.

“We also have an appeals process, which is open to anyone who feels that their penalty charge notice has not been issued correctly. We look at every appeal on its merits and will do so if one is submitted on this occasion.”