originally publish by By Ed Halford
A blue badge holder was left feeling “outraged” and “disrespected” after disabled parking at a B&Q store in Oxfordshire was blocked off by compost and plants.
Glenn Holmes Tasker, 69, regularly visits the B&Q store in Abingdon but last Saturday (August 26) he found the disabled parking spaces were not available due to compost and plants sitting in the way.
Mr Holmes Tasker, a blue badge holder for seven years, suffers from a chronic pulmonary condition and he said walking much further to the store as a consequence presented “real difficulties”.
Mr Holmes Tasker said: “It is outrageous.
“People need to walk a mile in our shoes to see how tough it can be.
“It is a complete lack of respect.
“Enough is enough.”
Mr Holmes Tasker said he was highlighting the issue as he wanted to speak up on behalf of others who had mobility issues.
He said incidents such as these were “common” at other parking facilities elsewhere in Oxofordshire and this was not the worst experience he had ever had.
After raising the problem with B&Q’s customer care team, Mr Holmes Tasker was told it was “truly a cause for concern” but that he needed to “visit the store and escalate with the manager available”.
Mr Holmes Tasker said he was unhappy B&Q expected him to “take the flak” by going into the store to see the manager.
He said: “It is a frustrating response as I don’t want confrontation.”
He said that despite visiting the store “quite often” he would not be going back as he felt “disrespected” by their response.
Mr Holmes Tasker said his condition meant there were times when he felt like he had “little breath”, meaning there were days where he could “rarely walk a few paces”.
Mr Holmes Tasker said his condition meant there were times when he felt like he had “little breath”, meaning there were days where he could “rarely walk a few paces”.
A B&Q spokeswoman said: “Creating an accessible and inclusive environment is extremely important to us and we are sorry to hear about Mr Tasker’s experience.
“We apologise for any inconvenience that the temporary use of two of the store’s seven accessible parking bays may have caused.”