POLICE have apologised after one of their patrol cars was seen parked in a disabled bay.

Taxi driver Patrick White – himself a former police officer – spotted the marked car in the bay outside Guildhall Market Place.

He said he watched the patrol car, which did not have an officer inside it, for at least 15 minutes before he himself had to drive off.

And he said the incident, on Wednesday, was not the first time taxi drivers have seen non-disabled motorists taking up the spots.

Mr White, who drives for 75 Taxis, said: "I was rather disgusted to see the car parked in that space – especially as it was a police car.

"We see a multitude of people parking there who are not disabled and they are taking that space from someone who is.

"Then, cars arrive with disabled badges on, and you can sometimes see wheelchairs in the back of the car, but the spaces have been taken and they have to wait for them to become free again."

Former Derby constable Mr White, from Belper, said he hoped the city's traffic wardens would monitor the area more closely. He said: "Every day, taxi drivers see people abusing those spaces and it isn't fair to the people who genuinely need them.

"I would like to see traffic wardens monitoring the spaces to make sure they are used correctly."

Ann Webster, equality and diversity manager at Derby City Council, said the spaces were in high demand.

She said: "Those bays are there for a particular reason and we placed them there because many disabled people cannot access multi-storey car parks. That's because people have specially adapted cars that can't get in, or they use the back of the vehicle to get out. That is what those spaces allow people to do.

"They are like gold dust and it is disappointing that a police car has parked there – but officers doing that does not happen regularly."

A spokesman for Derbyshire Police said the force would look into the matter. He said: "Police drivers are regularly reminded of their need to carefully consider where they park.

"It is the driver's responsibility to ensure that police vehicles are parked both lawfully and with reasonable consideration for other road users and pedestrians.

"In this case the car is plainly parked in an inappropriate place, for which the force apologises. We will be tracing the driver of the vehicle and seeking an explanation for why they saw fit to park there in the first place."