A double-amputee ex-Royal Marine dubbed a ‘hero’ by Prince Harry and the Invictus Games after losing his arm and leg in Afghanistan has been refused a blue badge because he ‘doesn’t officially meet the criteria’.
Ben McBean, 36, from Plymouth, was hit by a landmine blast in Helmand Province in 2008 at the age of just 20.
The father-of-two was initially handed a blue badge after returning to the UK before council bosses revoked it after seeing him use a prosthetic blade to run the London Marathon in aid of Help For Heroes.
Thirteen years later, former Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer intervened and helped Mr McBean get the badge back – only for his renewal application to now be denied.
‘I don’t know what more I’ve got to do to be honest. I just didn’t meet certain criteria,’ Mr McBean told TalkTV.
Ben McBean (pictured running the London Marathon in 2009) lost an arm and a leg when he was blown up by a landmine in Helmand province, Afghanistan, in 2008, aged just 20
Speaking on TalkTV, Mr McBean said he does not know ‘what more I’ve got to do’ to be eligible for the badge
‘It’s weird, when I first got one back in 2008 when I was injured I was just given one.
‘When I ran the London Marathon a year later for Help for Heroes they took it off me because I had proved I could run, basically.
‘So I didn’t have one for 13 years and then Johnny Mercer luckily stepped in and got me my badge back. That lasted two or three years and then the date ran out.
‘I’ve just tried to renew it and today I got an email saying it was unsuccessful.’
He added online that he did not ‘meet the criteria’ in terms of his Disability Living Allowance (DLA).
Plymouth Council’s website states that people only qualify automatically for a blue badge if they have a ‘higher rate mobility component’ of DLA.
Mr McBean had been expected to die on his flight home from Afghanistan after sustaining the near-fatal injuries – but is still not deemed to have the right level of disability.
The veteran also broke his ankle on Remembrance Sunday, which means he is even less mobile than he usually would be on one leg.
He said: ‘It’s my one and only ankle, so I could really do with a badge to be honest.
‘I was at hospital today but obviously I can’t park at any closer bays because my badge is out of date and I’ve been rejected a new one.’
The former Royal Marine lost his left arm and right leg when he was blown up in Helmand Province by an IED in 2008
Former Royal Marine Ben (left) shares a joke with Prince Harry (right) in 2017 after completing his 31-mile run through the streets of London, creating the outline of a giant poppy on his route
He added he can appeal the decision, but said: ‘It can take up to 12 weeks to get a response and obviously I’ve got a broken ankle now.’
Even when Mr McBean has held a blue badge, the war hero has been accused of faking his disability by members of the public.
While parking in his home city of Plymouth, someone complained to a traffic warden that he was using a fake badge after he exited his car while wearing skin-coloured prosthetics on his leg and arm.
Speaking to MailOnline at the time, Ben claimed he was accosted by a woman who had seen him get out of his car and hadn’t spotted his prosthetic arm and leg.
He said: ‘There was literally one space in a disabled bay. I knew there would be grief because I don’t look disabled.
‘As soon as I put my badge in the window some woman was shaking her head and tapping the window from a coffee shop.’
When Ben returned to the car, he encountered the woman, two men and a traffic warden – who was issuing him with a penalty charge notice.
‘The traffic warden was there, tapping at my window, saying my blue badge was fake – it’s not, it was issued by Plymouth City Council,’ the Afghanistan veteran said.
Ben, who lives in Plymouth, who was described as a hero by Prince Harry, smiles as he and triple amputee Mark Ormrod (left) receive their medals for serving in Afghanistan
Ben and the Duke of Sussex struck up a close friendship after flying home from Afghanistan together. Here they met at HM Naval Base Devonport, Plymouth, where the prince launched an adventure training expedition to the base of Mount Everest for injured service personnel
‘But he didn’t want to look and said he had already filed a report to the council and I would be getting fined.’
Mr McBean has also been abused by other passersby while using his badge while it was in date.
He was attending a pre-op appointment for surgery to remove neuromas, or damaged nerve tissue in his arm, caused by pieces of shrapnel left from a Taliban roadside bomb or IED at the time.
The first time he used it to park in a disabled bay for a hospital appointment, he said a woman shouted that he was a ‘government draining d***head’.
He added today: ‘I’m not the only one. It happens all the time. I only park in the bays if I really need to.’
Plymouth Council has been contacted for comment.
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