WHARFEDALE is becoming increasingly accessible to disabled people - thanks to a campaigning Otley group.

Otley Disability Advisory Group has already won numerous campaigns to open up the area to people with disabilities, and has now succeeded in gaining a ramp which will give wheelchair users the freedom to explore an Otley nature reserve.

The group, chaired by Rachael Thompson, campaigned for a year to get the ramp in place at Gallows Hill Nature Reserve, and has worked closely with the Leisure Services Department and Leeds City Council's highways department.

But Mrs Thompson, who is herself disabled with rheumatoid arthritis, is keen to continue working for disabled people in the area.

She said the group hopes to add to its many successes in the area, and already has more projects in the pipeline.

Mrs Thompson said: "We are absolutely thrilled with the ramp, it means we can get to Gallows Hill, but when the ramp was first installed, foot and mouth was about, so we couldn't actually go far, but now we are free.

"We are so pleased that people in wheelchairs can get around, it is so important that we have the same rights as other people and don't get discriminated against."

The group has already campaigned for a stairlift in Otley Civic Centre as well as having 'evacuation' chairs installed - to help disabled people get out of a building in an emergency.

Members have also worked with Otley Rangers to set up scooter routes across the Chevin, and through Golden Acre Park, Bramhope. The group's work also brought about a disabled car park at the park.

Now members' efforts are going into working with the Friends of Gallows Hill to improve the pathways for better access.

Mrs Thompson would like to see equipment for disabled children constructed in parks next, and hope that will be the group's next project.

The group was formed four years ago to promote the shop mobility scheme in the town, but since then it has gone from strength to strength.

Mrs Thompson has been chairman for two years and said that in the past 12 months the group has really taken off.

She said: "We are quite unique as a group, all we ask is that people have a sense of humour and a big smile.

"We don't just sit around, and that shouldn't be what people think of people with disabilities. The group has fun, and that's the main thing."

The group is trying to raise funds for a new computer - to aid its campaign work - and has already had a raffle which raised £100. Mrs Thompson currently uses a typewriter to write newsletters and letters, but says her arthritis makes typing difficult.

She hopes to be able to raise enough funds for a com-puter. There are now 15 people in the group, who have a range of disabilities, and come from as far away as Pudsey.

The group regularly meets at Otley Civic Centre. More information on (01943) 468924.