A DISABLED single mother with a rare heart condition says she feels lost after her blue parking badge was revoked by Barnsley Council.
Jill Bland, 40, of North Street, Darfield, suffers from rare genetic disorder postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), meaning she has an abnormally high heart rate when standing up, walking and eating certain foods and loses consciousness.
This is because her blood is not effectively pumped around her body - stopping the flow of blood to the brain.
Despite suffering from the condition all her life, little is known about it and she was only diagnosed three years ago, after which she was recommended a disabled blue parking badge by her GP.
But responsibility for assessing eligibility for blue badges has since passed to the council and Jill said she was 'not considered disabled enough' by council assessors.
She said: "I couldn't believe what I was hearing - how disabled do you have to be? This is not a condition you can measure without heart and blood monitoring equipment and these people are not medically qualified to make that decision.
"I look normal because I do my best to live as active a life as I can and really push myself to avoid using a wheelchair because, where muscles are concerned, if you don't use it you lose it.
"I get I can touch my toes and reach above my head but my disablity means I can't walk for much more than five or ten minutes before I'm down.
"That's a problem when I have regular check-ups at Hallamshire Hospital and have to pick my kids up from school."
A council spokesman said: "Jill is the only known POTs sufferer in Barnsley and one of only 3,000 in the UK but believes her own experience in battling to get diagnosed suggests there are many more."
