A BRADFORD man who is disabled has criticised a supermarket after claiming that a store's mobility scooters have been out of action for several weeks.

Richard Flynn said the problem at the Tesco store on Great Horton Road has created a real struggle for people who have disabilities, and that the management has not fixed the problem quickly enough despite his complaints.

Mr Flynn, 57, and his 33-year-old son are both wheelchair users and he claims to have raised the issue with Tesco.

A Tesco spokesperson responded by saying that one of the two mobility scooters at the store has been fixed, and that they are in the process of trying to fix the other one.

“The mobility scooters at Tesco have been down for a number of weeks,” Mr Flynn said.

“I suffer from arthritis of the back and my son has cerebral palsy.

“Tesco does have trolleys you can clip to a wheelchair, but they’re very small and almost impossible to use – they can only fit a loaf of bread and a pint of milk.

“I explained the problem to a manager, and he said ‘okay, we’ll get it sorted’.

“It makes my shopping trip a lot harder. I can walk but I struggle – I’ve got breathing difficulties and my mobility is slow, so using a scooter when I’m having a bad day makes life a lot easier.

“There are people worse off than me, too. They’re always fobbing us off with excuses. No one ever does anything.”

Mr Flynn added that his son also finds shopping difficult due to his disability.

“He can’t really go on his own – he gets his mate to go with him, it’s a struggle,” he said.

“As disabled people, it’s as if we’re not there and we don’t exist. 

“It’s as if disabled people don’t need to eat and do a proper shop just like anyone else.

“I get frustrated enough with ignorant people using the disabled bays because it’s just easier for them.

“It’s not right at all.”

A Tesco spokesperson said: “We normally have two mobility scooters available to customers at our Bradford Extra store, but unfortunately they both stopped working at the same time.

“One has been fixed and is now back in service and we’re doing our best to get the second one repaired as quickly as possible.

“We’re really sorry to any customers impacted by this.”