Fed-up Jan Morrissey says she has to park on the double yellow lines outside her Grangetown home while she carries her paralysed son Christopher in and out of the house.

But Jan, of Queen Alexandra Road, says she is being forced to run out of her house every three hours to change her parking pass because over-zealous parking attendants keep slapping tickets on her car.

Last April Jan, 42, lost her nine-year-old son Matthew to Mosaic Variegated Aneuploidy (MVA) – a rare genetic condition which also affects 13-year-old Christopher.

Jan, who tragically lost her first child Andrew to cot death when he was just 12 weeks old, says that even on the day of Matthew's death the attendants would not let up and she was still forced to come out of her house every three hours to update the disabled pass.

She told the Echo: "I'm just so fed up with them. I have to run out of my house all day because my disabled badge is only valid for three hours from the time I park.

"My youngest son Matthew died last year at home and on the day he died I wanted to be with him, but instead I had to keep coming out to update the pass.

"I even explained to the attendants what the situation was and they just told me I would have to move the car.

"It's as if they're like robots. It's ridiculous they don't seem to have any compassion or common sense."

Like Matthew, Christopher is unable to speak because of his condition and Jan is her son's full-time carer.

Because he is paralysed she has to lift the teenager, who weighs just 2st 8lb, in and out of the car while he is still attached to his oxygen cylinder.

Jan, who works at B&Q, also has to feed her son through a gastronomy feeding tube – a pipe fed straight in to his stomach – and was even slapped with a ticket while she was giving him something to eat.

"Christopher can only have liquidised food fed through a tube in his stomach. That has to be done a few times a day and once you start doing it, you can't stop because obviously he is prone to infections and anything like that could be potentially life-threatening.

"After I fed him I went out to change the time on the pass and once again I had been given a ticket. I tried to explain to the traffic warden but he just wouldn't listen. I ended up shouting at him. I know I shouldn't have lost my temper but it's unbelievably frustrating sometimes.

"I'm not looking for any special favours, but just a little bit of common sense especially when they know my situation."

A spokeswoman for Sunderland City Council said they would try to resolve the problem.

She said: "Queen Alexandra Road is a very busy road and the waiting restrictions outside Mrs Morrissey's house are there for a very good reason as it is close to a roundabout.

"But we do sympathise with her situation and we will get in touch with Mrs Morrissey to advise her on the various options which may be available to her."


* Mosaic Variegated Aneuploidy is caused when a child has more chromosomes to a cell.
Normal cells have 46 chromosomes and a cell with more or less than this number is said to be aneuploid. MVA in children has been linked to childhood cancers such as Wilms' Tumours.
Aneuploidy is very common in many cancers, but until now scientists have not been sure whether it is a symptom or the actual cause of the cancer.