Skateboard shop apologises after wheelchair ramp row

Sarah Camley said her fiance Andrew Sheehan was a big fan of Rollersnakes' shoes

A woman who uses a wheelchair has criticised a Derby rollerskating business which said it would not buy an access ramp for customers and removed its disabled car parking space.

Sarah Camley, 35, visited Rollersnakes in Mansfield Road with her fiance Andrew Sheehan but was unable to use the entrance due to a step and was instead given access to the skate shop through a warehouse area usually off limits to the public.

Ms Camley asked if they had invested in a ramp on her next visit but was told they had decided not to buy one “to accommodate one person”, while she also found the designated disabled bay had made way for a new outdoor skatepark facility and not been replaced.

Rollersnakes has apologised and said it would investigate making the premises more accessible.

Ms Camley was taken through the warehouse to get inside

Ms Camley, from Spondon, said: “My fiance likes the shoes but we don’t visit that often because we went a couple of times and they’ve never had a ramp.

“In the end they said they weren’t going to get a ramp just for me. They were quite snotty on their emails, it made me feel like dirt.

“They take me through the warehouse, it just makes me feel like luggage.

“You’re meant to provide reasonable adjustments for people - but they got rid of the disabled bay to make way for a skate park.

“It’s depressing to be honest, it’s hard to find places that are accessible. You just want to be able to go somewhere and not feel different.”

While there are no specific requirements by law, under the Equality Act 2010 businesses need to “provide reasonable adjustments for disabled customers”.

Sarah has ME, Ehlers-Danlos and chronic fatigue syndrome and has to use a wheelchair

When contacted by the BBC, Rollersnakes said it would look to install a permanent ramp into the store and mark up a new space in their car park.

A spokesperson said: “As a small family business of 40 years we have always encouraged everyone to visit our store. During this time we have invested a lot into providing safe and free to use skate facilities for people of all backgrounds and abilities.

“To expand our facilities for the skateboarding community we have had to make some changes to our parking spaces, moving them to the front of the building.

“We apologise to our customer who felt we fell short of providing adequate disability procedures during her visit, and we are now working hard to provide better accessibility.

“We would like to highlight that we offered various access routes to the store for the customer and we are very sorry that they felt we didn't suit their requirements.

“We would like to thank the customer for highlighting this problem so we can do better."

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