A DISABLED man from Malvern was left furious after a “jobsworth” hospital parking attendant ticketed his car and then turned his back on him as he struggled to help his elderly mother-in-law.

Mel Stocker, age 61, has had the muscle wasting illness motor neurone disease for five years and is weak in his arms and legs.

When he arrived at Worcestershire Royal Hospital in the pouring rain to find the disabled bays near the entrance were full, he parked in the nearest pay and display space and put his disabled parking badge clearly on show.

After struggling to get his 84-year-old mother-in-law into her wheelchair and across to the hospital, Mr Stocker, of King Edwards Road, Malvern, returned to find a parking attendant putting a ticket on his car.

“After I explained the situation he said this was nothing to do with him and turned his back on me,” he said. “This was the final straw, so I parked my car in the middle of the road and abandoned it, telling him that I was going to fetch my mother-in-law, unless he would like to get somebody to assist.

“He belligerently refused and stood by my car with his back to me while I struggled.”

Worcestershire Royal Hospital has apologised and pledged to take steps to ensure this sort of incident does not happen again.

But Mr Stocker, who used to own Malvern Glass before his ill health forced him to retire, remains upset.

He said it was not so much the ticket – which he later discovered was only a warning – that upset him, but the man’s attitude and unwillingness to help.

“The way he behaved was just disgraceful. It was so infuriating to be treated like that and my mother-in-law was just bewildered,” he added.

Penny Venables, chief executive of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, offered her “sincere apologies”.

“We are very sorry that Mr Stocker had such a frustrating morning and we take this concern very seriously,” she said. “We have raised this matter with car park attendants as a priority to ensure improved communication with patients and visitors.”