I AM 23 years of age and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2009.

I was today challenged by a member of the public about parking in the disabled bay of my local supermarket. I am a registered blue badge holder and have been for some time so I am more than entitled to use the disabled bay facilities. The person would not take the fact that I had a blue badge on display as enough justification that I was in fact entitled to park there and more or less accused me of using someone else badge. Whilst I understand it can be frustrating if you believe someone is abusing the blue badge system I would ask anyone judging young people for parking in disabled bays using a blue badge to think twice and not judge a book by its cover. Young people can be disabled too and everyday life can be difficult enough without confrontations in the car park every time they try and do a simple yet sometimes difficult task like fetching the weekly grocery shop. I have to ask, with no offence intended, if I had been in a wheelchair would the gentleman then have believed me?

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