An elderly woman isolating from Covid-19 says she was branded a “nuisance” for reporting a car parked in her disabled bay.

Margaret Woolf, 71, said an official at Barnet Council’s parking enforcement team told her she was “being a nuisance” and to “stop pestering them” after she rang for four days in a row to report the vehicle.

Mrs Woolf, who lives in Victoria Avenue, New Barnet, said the car had been parked in her bay in adjoining Victoria Road for nine days.

She said she reported it to the council – but after the enforcement team had issued three tickets, they refused to offer any more help.

“I am 71 years old and self-isolating,” Mrs Woolf said. “I rely on my car to have at least some contact with the human world and go to the supermarket.

“I have had a car parked in my disabled bay for nine days. Where in Barnet can you get nine days’ free parking? Neighbours have come to my house and asked if I have a new car. It is ridiculous.”

Mrs Woolf said she had previously been given a ticket for not displaying her blue badge, which she said had been stolen – yet the council would not crack down on the driver occupying her bay.

She said she was told to report the matter to the Metropolitan Police – but when she did, the police told her it should be dealt with by the council.

“Barnet said they will only issue a maximum of three tickets – and because I had rung them for four days, I was being a nuisance,” she said. “They rang me back and told me to stop pestering them.”

Mrs Woolf, who uses an electric scooter to get to and from her car, said parking enforcement also asked if she could leave her vehicle somewhere else.

She added that it had been difficult to report the parking offence using the council’s website.

A Barnet Council spokesperson said: “We issued three parking tickets in three days to the car between Monday, February 1 and Wednesday, February 3. We would not look to issue more than one parking penalty charge per day.

“The vehicle is fully taxed and with an up-to-date MOT, with no signs of abandonment. We arranged for the vehicle to be relocated, but when one of our operatives attended, it had already been moved.”