Benfleet wheelchair user and family 'trapped' on train

A wheelchair user was trapped on a train after staff failed to turn up with a ramp despite him booking assistance.

Josh Hamilton ended up travelling on the service until it terminated when he could not get off at his stop at Benfleet in Essex.

Mr Hamilton said he was "dreading" travelling by rail again.

Train operator c2c has apologised but said staff were not available because of disruption at the station.

The IT worker, his wife and their two young children were on the 18:37 from Upminster in east London on 29 May after a shopping trip when the train arrived at Benfleet.

"The doors opened and everybody's running off the train and there was no-one standing there with the ramp for me," he said.

"There was no-one there to talk to or to do anything and before you know it, the train starts leaving and then you realise that you don't know where you're getting off because no-one knows that you're coming."

He said his wife was panicking and his children, aged two and three, became "hysterical".

The family were forced to remain on the train until it reached Shoeburyness, at the eastern end of the line beyond Southend, where his wife Alana went to speak to the driver.

'Scared to go back on a train'

Mr Hamilton, who has been in a wheelchair since contracting meningitis and sepsis in 2019, said they were then told their attempts to hold the door open at Benfleet had caused a delay.

This meant the train which would have taken them back had already left and it was several hours before the family got home.

He said the experience had made him "feel really small".

"You're fighting for your independence when you've had such a big disability hit you, and then you can't even get on and off a train without help," he said.

"It makes you scared of going back on the train again."

Once they got to Benfleet railway station, the couple said they were told there had been a problem with children running around the track, but that they were told different versions of events by other staff.

The train company said staff had been dealing with a police incident at the time the Hamilton family had arrived at Benfleet railway station

A c2c spokesperson said: "We apologise for any inconvenience that was caused to Mr Hamilton.

"We can confirm there was an incident at Benfleet station when Mr Hamilton arrived, which was being dealt with by two police officers.

"Unfortunately, due to this disruption, station staff were unable to assist Mr Hamilton disembarking from the train and we sincerely apologise for any upset and disruption this caused him."

The company said it had provided "additional briefings" to the staff involved to ensure an incident such as this "doesn't happen again" and that they were arranging a meeting with Mr Hamilton.

Mr Hamilton said he would like to see ramps fitted to train carriage exits.

C2c said its trains did not have automatic ramps but it would be replacing and adding new ramps at its stations in the next two months.