UK: Bus driver refuses to help disabled man

Royal Mail worker, Ian Barrington, who only speaks English, was denied help with the disabled ramp, because the driver said she had backache.

As Mr Barrington expresses his frustration at not being helped, the driver replies: ‘I don’t understand foreign languages’.

Ian also said he needed hospital treatment, after the driver hit his legs with a door during the incident, although this is not shown in the video.

The 44-year-old and his wife, Katar Zyna, 34, got a First Bus from their home village of Thorney, Cambridgeshire, to nearby Peterborough, on November 4.

Ian, who moved to the UK seven years ago after he was shot and paralysed during a robbery, said his wife had to operate the ramp after the driver refused to help, adding that the driver threatened to throw him off the bus as he and Katar spoke about the lack of help they’d been given.

Ian wrote on Facebook: “First Bus need to screen and train their employees before allowing them to represent their company. As a disabled person, life can be really challenging. We struggle with mobility, we struggle with loss of independence, transportation, accessibility issue, employment, communication and social relationships, getting married and self-esteem.

“On top of that we are discriminated and disliked by people for no reason at all. First Bus say that they were taking the incident ‘very seriously,” he added.

Chris Speed, Head of operations at First Eastern Counties, said: “We are taking this allegation very seriously, as it is certainly not the kind of service we would expect to be provided by one of our driving team. I will be investigating the matter and will correspond with the gentleman concerned when the process is concluded.”

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