A BRADFORD man who suffered a stroke has undergone a stressful three month battle with the council, as he and his wife seek for changes in blue badge rules.

Philip Smith, 47, is a van driver from Hill Crest Drive in Queensbury. He was struck down by the condition in November and has been left severely weakened on his left side.

At present, he is only able to walk around 30 metres, and even that has to be under supervision.

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His wife Angela, 46, said that her husband is not seeking to take advantage of his disability, but that he could do with the badge as a temporary disability measure.

Ms Smith is hopeful of a breakthrough with the council, after Mr Smith's physio, GP and Bradford South MP, Judith Cummins, all offered their support, but she feels it can do more to help those that are temporarily incapacitated.

She said: "Philip can't work, drive or go to the shop at the moment and we've had to have an access ramp installed at the house and a new shower, all at our expense.

"Despite all that, we had two appeals for a blue badge refused by Bradford Council, because it has said that as he's recovering, he's not eligible.

"At the moment he relies on me for everything. When we go out, I have to dump Philip in a doorway while I go and find a place to park.

"It shouldn't be too much to ask for people like Philip to be able to have a temporary badge issued for 6-12 months for example.

"If my husband recovers in that time, then we wouldn't attempt to use it any more."

Ms Smith said that some stern words from her husband's GP earlier this week seemed to have finally done the trick, but she worries for those who are less persistent.

She said: "Our GP told the council it shouldn't just make assumptions about Philip's recovery and it seems they've relented, as it's said it'll look to give us one soon.

"But there are people who will get rejected in similar situations to ours and just think there's nothing more they can do.

"We just want to make it easier for others in future."

A statement from Bradford Council said: "Unfortunately in order to keep an applicant’s circumstances confidential, the council cannot comment on individual cases.

"However, in this case, we can confirm that the assessment process is on-going and the council are in contact with the applicant with a view to positively resolving the matter.”