A man who soiled himself after being denied a new blue badge says he is being discriminated against because his illness is hidden.

Benjamin Garrett from Greenhithe has held a pass which allows him to park in disabled bays for more than 11 years.

The 41-year-old suffers from the same debilitating condition as Manchester United footballer Darren Fletcher who has spoken out about his own struggles, which means he has "little to no control" of his bowels.

He say symptoms can flare up out of nowhere and on bad days he can need to go to the toilet 15 times.

In one recent episode, he experienced severe stomach cramps while out shopping and soiled himself before he could reach a public bathroom.

The dad's disabled permit, which was issued by Greenwich council before he moved to the county, expired in November.

When he applied to Kent County Council to renew it, he was refused.

He had also previously obtained a badge from Bromley council without a problem, when he lived in that borough.

A rejection letter from the Kent's blue badge team read: "After full and careful consideration of your application and supporting evidence, we regret to advise that we will not be able to issue you with a blue badge at this time.

"As you do not meet any of the automatic eligibility criteria, you were assessed under our subject to further assessment criteria.

"To qualify under this criteria, an applicant must have a permanent and substantial disability."

It went to explain this meant they cannot walk, or means "they have very considerable difficulty walking".

The dad – who only works part-time as a result of his condition known as ulcerative colitis – claims this is clear discrimination as although his mobility is not impaired his condition is lifelong and has a significant impact on his everyday life.

He said: "I might not be breathless or unable to walk, but I will have a severe restriction of movement if I am unable to find a toilet in time.

"For a council to ignore someone who has a hidden disability, held a blue badge for 11 years is nothing short of scandalous.

"This is an appalling injustice that I am forced to suffer because I have an illness which is classed as a hidden disability."

Mr Garrett, of Charles Street, was also aggrieved at having been directed to "outdated guidance" by the Blue Badge Team.

He was told to read the Blue Badge Scheme Local Authority Guidance (2012) despite this having been superceded by new revised advice issued by the government to take account of people with "hidden disabilities".

The parking scheme was rolled out in August to include people who find walking longer distances difficult, such as those with autism, dementia, Parkinson's and anxiety.

But the decision to allocate badges is left to the discretion of individual councils.

Mr Garrett said he suffered a similar struggle with Greenwich council in 2016. But after explaining his condition they told him he would qualify.

"Now I have moved to Kent and I am suffering the same anxiety and letter writing again," he said.

He claims to have sent medical records including details of his medication and blood tests as requested but has not heard back from the council.

A Kent County Council spokesperson said: “All Blue Badge applicants are assessed in line with the new legislation which came into force in August 2019. Applicants are assessed fairly using all the information provided to us at the point of assessment, and appeals are always undertaken by an alternative assessor where possible.

"All our Blue Badge Eligibility Assessors are registered healthcare professionals who have a strong knowledge of the guidance and legislation that surrounds the scheme. With a thorough knowledge and understanding of conditions and medications they holistically assess how an applicant is impacted when mobilising outside the home, by considering both visible and non-visible conditions.

"The presence or absence of any condition is not in itself a qualification for a badge, so all applications are assessed using the information provided by the applicant to support their application.

“Kent County Council will always use the most recent and up to date legislation when assessing applications. The council is in continuous dialogue with colleagues in other local authorities to help increase understanding and consistency across authorities, all of whom are trying to apply the new legislation fairly and without discrimination to any service users.”

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