A TERMINALLY ill Greenock man was stunned after being blocked in a disabled parking space by an ignorant driver.

Blue badge user Hugh Jackson, who suffers from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and arthritis, parked in one of the clearly marked disabled parking bays at the Tesco store in Port Glasgow on Saturday.

When he returned to his car, he was unable to get in after a someone blocked him in by squeezing their car onto part of the disabled space designed to give blue badge users more room to get in and out.

Hugh, 71, who lives in Kincaid Court, said: "When I came out I just stood and looked at it for quite a while.

"I couldn't believe what was happening.

"I was in disbelief - the car didn't even have a disabled sticker.

"People just have no regard for other people who are old and disabled.

"They just want to be close to the door of wherever they want to go because they are lazy.

"It's pure laziness.

"I'm shocked that people can be so selfish."

Hugh relies on the blue badge as his lung condition means he struggles to walk far and he also suffers from arthritis.

He said: "I have idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis - it's an incurable disease.

"It causes me to have shortness of breath as part of my lungs no longer work.

"I also have arthritis and need the car door to be fully open so I can get my legs out, as I can't bend them too far."

Hugh, who formerly worked as an engineer in Kincaids, was forced to go back into the Tesco store for help.

Staff put out a message asking the driver to move their car.

Twenty minutes later, when Hugh went back out the car was gone.

He hopes that by speaking out, it will encourage the person concerned - and others - to be a bit more courteous towards disabled drivers.

Hugh said: "The problem is rife.

"There are so many cars parking in disabled spaces.

"You expect to come out and be able to get into your car.

"We have to pay for our blue badges - these people don't pay anything."

A spokesman for Tesco today slammed the driver who selfishly blocked Hugh's car and warned they will call the police if this type of incident happens again.

He said: "The vast majority of our customers use our car parks entirely responsibly, making incidents like this frustrating and disappointing.

"If this happens again we will call the police."