Some of the largest supermarket chains fail disabled customers by allowing abuse of allocated parking spaces by non-disabled drivers, a survey has found.

And a joint scheme designed as an ?ongoing commitment? to tackle the problem was dropped by one retailer just four months after signing up to it.

Safeway, Tesco, Sainsbury?s and Asda joined forces in February 1999 to tackle the issue through the Disabled Link Up (DLU) scheme.

But Sainsbury?s shelved the project in June that year in favour of its own, while Safeway, which was responsible for setting up the scheme, said it was ?not really an active policy? any more.

Asda said main aspects, such as putting leaflets on offending cars, were still in operation, but not necessarily as part of DLU. Only Tesco said it was still part of the project.

The supermarkets claimed they had policies on dealing with abuse of parking facilities. But a survey of 73 store managers by the British Polio Fellowship (BPF) found many were not aware of them.

Only 69 per cent of Safeway managers knew of a formal policy, while one-fifth of Asda bosses and almost as many Tesco chiefs did not. However, 94 per cent of Sainsbury?s managers were aware of a policy.

Douglas Campbell, chief executive of the Disabled Drivers? Association, said supermarkets did not take the problem seriously: ?They don?t treat it with the degree of importance it ought to have. There is very little being done to keep spaces available for disabled people.?

A BPF spokesman said the survey showed the problem was widespread and they were disappointed the DLU had been pushed aside when it was meant to show a long-term commitment to tackling the issue.

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