Hull student 'humiliated' over lack of disabled access

A student who uses a wheelchair has described the lack of disabled access at her university as "humiliating".

Sarah-Marie Da Silva said she had been forced to sit in stairwells during lectures at the University of Hull as she cannot negotiate the stairs to a seat.

She said she was considering taking legal action.

The university said it was "very sorry that this has happened" and was looking into the matter.

Ms Da Silva, a first-year zoology student, posted an image of herself on social media sitting in a stairwell during a lecture.

"There was no way for me to get down those stairs so I was just isolated," she said.

Ms Da Silva said she had also been forced to use the goods lift as the passenger lift in her university building is broken.

"It's been five months of me kind of fighting to kind of sit with my fellow students," she said.

"I am put at the front by myself whilst everyone is allowed seats and desks. Some days I don't get a desk.

"It's humiliating really, it's had quite a big impact on my mental health."

She added: "I come to university and I feel tiny. I feel like I'm not worth anything."

The University of Hull said the building used by Ms Da Silva was listed and that it could not make any structural changes to the lecture theatre.

"A rigorous process is undertaken to ensure rooms allocated for teaching sessions take into account students' additional requirements but unfortunately it is clear a mistake has happened on this occasion," a spokesman said.

"We are very sorry that this has happened, clearly it is not acceptable. We take these matters very seriously and a colleague from our student services team is looking into what has happened now."