Express & Star

50 disabled people left locked out in cold after council key cock-up

More than 50 disabled people were left in the cold after being locked out of their meeting venue following a blunder by council officials.

Published

Some people had made a 40-mile round trip to attend the Stroke Support West Midlands meeting in Wolverhampton, only to find they were refused entry to their council-run building. Members retreated to the cafe at nearby West Park to keep warm.

A complaint to the council has resulted in a wholehearted apology and a gift of three-month's free use of the room.

Wolverhampton council chiefs said the problem was caused over a mix-up following a change in security contractors.

Stroke Support West Midlands meets for two hours at the Action For Independence building in Albert Road in the city on Saturday mornings for a keep-fit session and social get-together.

The group's secretary Melvin Jones said: "People were arriving in taxis and Dial Around, and didn't know whether to stay or not.

"One member had travelled from Newport.

"The security people wouldn't let us in and after waiting around for 45 minutes we took a lot of people to West Park and spent £50 on buying them hot drinks to warm them up.

"It's a very popular meeting that helps people with their mobility and co-ordination and also brings structure to their lives.

"It's a highlight of their week for some members.

"If only we'd been warned there was a problem we could have rang round on Friday and saved people the trip."

The group was launched in 1999 by a handful of stroke survivors and their carers at West Park Rehabilitation Hospital in Wolverhampton and now has around 70 members.

In a statement, council spokesman Paul Brown issued an apology to those involved.

He said: "We are very sorry that this situation occurred and have apologised to Stroke Support West Midlands.

"We have agreed to meet the expenses the group incurred due to the disruption last Saturday and will also waive their room hire charge for the next three months.

"Last week the council changed its security contractor for Action for Independence, along with a number of other council-owned buildings in the city.

"The keys to Action for Independence were returned by the previous security firm on time but we neglected to get them to the new contractor in time to enable them to open the building for the group's booking on Saturday.

"We would like to once again apologise to Stroke Support West Midlands for any inconvenience caused by this one-off situation, and look forward to welcoming them back to Action for Independence this coming weekend."

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.