Disabled man refused train entry

An 86-year-old man said he was "disgusted" after being left stranded when a train company refused to take his mobility scooter.

Maurice Cooke, from Derby, took an East Midlands Trains service to Belper but was not allowed on the return train.

He eventually had to get a taxi home and said he was upset by the stress.

The firm said scooters longer than 1.2m (3ft 11ins) are banned for health and safety reasons and apologised for letting him make the outward journey.

"How did it make me feel? Well, I was disgusted," Mr Cooke told BBC Radio Derby.

It took an hour of ringing around before they got me a taxi and when I got back I was up all night and shaking Maurice Cooke

"I had booked both parts of the journey in person, sat on the scooter, and no-one said there would be any problems.

"I arrived for the return journey well in advance but when the train arrived I was told I couldn't get on.

"It took an hour of ringing around before they got me a taxi and when I got back I was up all night and shaking."

East Midlands Trains depot manager Darren Field Thomas said: "A mistake was made. We should not have taken the customer's scooter. A member of staff had used their discretion but incorrectly.

"We want to offer a consistent level of service to our customers and we will be rebriefing our staff and we offer our sincere apologies to the customer."

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