DISABLED people will now have to pay to park in Weymouth and Portland's off-street car parks.

Councillors have confirmed a draft traffic order made last December which will scrap free parking for them in off-street car parks.

But the decision still means that disabled people can continue to park free for up to three hours on-street including on double yellow lines provided they do not cause an obstruction.

The 7-1 vote at Wednesday's Weymouth and Portland planning and traffic committee left the borough's Access group chairman John Lambert utterly disappointed'.

After the meeting he said: "Without a doubt it will cause more parking on double yellow lines or disabled people will go elsewhere for their shopping to towns which appreciate their commercial value. I shall be shopping in Dorchester."

Mr Lambert earlier spoke to the meeting from his wheelchair and warned councillors: "Weymouth is getting a rather poor reputation among disabled people for its apparent resistance to accommodating disabled people and disabled drivers.

"This reputation is going to be worsened if the abolition of the disabled permit goes ahead."

He urged the meeting to leave things as they were or only bring in graded permit and badge charges while other objectors said the council should wake up' and accused members of disgusting' discrimination.

One said: "That fee is a meal on the table for me and my wife. All you are doing is ripping elderly and disabled people off. Are you that hard up for cash?"

But there was a strong response from chairman, Coun Peter Farrell, who suffers from the effects of polio as a child, and he said he didn't have a disabled blue badge but could walk into the council offices tomorrow and get one'.

He added: "A blue badge is an indication of someone's infirmity. It is not an indication that they are poor. You can't have it all ways. You have to strike a balance."

Coun Christine James said: "The general feeling is that we are all getting a bit fed up with special treatment.

"Many families are on low incomes with less than disabled people and they have to pay. We have to be seen to be treating everyone fairly. Other places do charge for disabled parking and it is perhaps time we came in line. Where do people think the money comes from?"

Coun Brendan Webster said the council had to accommodate disabled people and it was doing so through extra-size parking bays at no extra cost to disabled people despite it meaning fewer normal sized bays.

He added: "I don't think we should simply not charge people."

Coun John Birtwistle spoke against charging and said: "I don't want this borough to be thought of as mean spirited by comparison with other places. I don't want people to point their finger and say, that's where disabled people get a raw deal."

Coun Geoff Petherick helped draft the order when they faced a budget including a £300,000 concessionary bus fare deficit.

He added: "If we can't find cash here we will have to find it somewhere else. We are going to disadvantage someone."