Disabled motorists have been told they now have to pay to park at local hospitals.

And parking charges for all patients have been increased.

Drivers with blue badges who park at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary, at the Acre Mills outpatient centre and at Calderdale Royal Hospital can now only park for free if they are receiving benefits.

They must prove their entitlement to reclaim their cash after they have parked.

A new system has been launched allowing disabled drivers on low incomes to recoup their money if they can demonstrate they can’t afford to pay.

Patients’ group Healthwatch Kirklees has urged the hospital to make the refund process easy and obvious on its website.

The change comes amid a 25% hike in parking charges and a reduction in the free “drop off” time at cash strapped Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust (CHFT). The trust is currently £4m in the red and predicted to drop deeper into deficit this year.

As revealed in the Examiner, the trust made more than £1,350 a day in parking charges in 2013-2014 with drivers paying nearly half a million pounds for parking.

And as of Monday, the lowest charge for parking at any CHFT site is £2.50 for two hours – up from £2.

The other prices are £5 for five hours, £6 for six hours or £7 for 24 hours.

A 30-minute free drop-off period is in operation at all sites – a reduction of 15 minutes on the previous 45 minutes’ grace.

The price rises have come after the trust analysed charges of other hospitals in West Yorkshire and found it was charging much less.

The new price for two hours is still 30p lower than at Dewsbury Hospital while the £5 charge for four hours is lower than both major hospitals in Leeds – the General Infirmary and St James.

Lesley Hill, director of planning, performance, estates and facilities, , said: “The increased charges are the first to be applied for more than two years and are still comparable with other trusts in West Yorkshire, with all charges going directly back to patient care.

“In advance of the changes we worked with holders of blue badges and discussed the changes with both local Healthwatch groups.

“All blue badge holders who are in receipt of benefits will have the charges reimbursed under the Hospital Travel Costs scheme and all will continue to access spaces closest to the hospital areas.”

Rory Deighton, director of Healthwatch Kirklees said: “CHFT have followed the same route as hospitals across West Yorkshire, with many parking charges rising significantly across 2015/16.

“We questioned the trust on, the use of priority permits, on public engagement, on the free shuttle bus and on car parking enforcement.

“We were particularly interested in their scheme for reimbursing car parking fees for patients on lower incomes, and encouraged them to make this scheme more visible and easier to use.

“At the moment patients can reclaim charges through the trust general offices by producing proof of eligibility.

“Free parking will also continue for families who are long-term visitors who have an arrangement with the ward, and for patients, such as cancer patients, who are receiving on-going courses of treatments.

“But the trust needs to make sure that it makes these concession schemes easy for patients to access, and not hide them away in an obscure part of its website.”

The Examiner understands similar proposals for blue badge holders are being considered at Mid Yorkshire NHS Hospitals Trust, which operates Dewsbury Hospital.