Beach ‘jobsworth’ is a barrier to disabled OAP (From Bournemouth Echo)

Beach ‘jobsworth’ is a barrier to disabled OAP

7:00pm Thursday 8th May 2008 in

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AN ELDERLY disabled woman was left "humiliated" when she was denied access through a barrier to Boscombe beach, her family claim.

Angry relatives of the 81-year-old woman have hit out at a "jobsworth" council worker who refused to allow them to drop her off at a beachfront café without paying £5 in car park fees.

The pensioner, who can only walk a few paces with the aid of a stick, struggled in vain to reach the café.

But in the end, she had to sit on a bench while her family brought her tea and biscuits.

Bournemouth council says the barrier operator was right to refuse them access because the promenade is not suitable for dropping off.

But Sue Quinn, of Southbourne, said the incident overshadowed what should have been an enjoyable day for her, her husband and children and her husband's parents.

They were unable to visit their nearest beach at Fisherman's Walk because the cliff lift is currently out of order and so travelled to the nearest accessible beach at Boscombe.

"The plan was for the grandparents to have a cup of tea at the café on the prom while watching the children enjoy the water and the sand," she said.

Mrs Quinn intended to drop her mother-in-law off at the café and then turn around immediately and park at a cheaper car park.

But this request was refused, despite the fact the prom car park was not particularly busy and they had a valid disabled badge.

She added: "We refused on point of principle to deal with this man any further, let alone agree to pay such an outrageous amount of money to drop a disabled person 100 metres past the barrier."

Instead, her mother and father-in-law had to watch their grandchildren from a bench at the Boscombe Pier roundabout.

Andrew Emery, services development officer, said: "We are sorry to hear that this customer had a problem but due to the narrow promenade on which this popular seafront car park is situated, there is insufficient room for vehicles to drop visitors off without blocking the road for other users and emergency vehicles.

"We would encourage customers to use alternative drop-off points along the seafront such as at the East Cliff lift or Alum Chine."

The council insists it is working hard to improve seafront access and points out that permanent wheelchair users and their carers can use the East and West cliff lifts and the land train for free.