Tony Hudgell: Family's anger as theme park denies boy ride access

Paula Hudgell said Tony had been on the rides before but a new policy excluded him

The adoptive mother of an eight-year-old boy who had both legs amputated because of abuse by his birth parents has spoken out after he was denied access to some rides at a theme park.

Paula Hudgell and her son Tony visited Chessington World of Adventures in Surrey with friends at the weekend.

But she said he was not able to access any rides except the baby carousel.

Chessington managing director Mike Vallis apologised but said: "Safety is our number one priority."

Ms Hudgell tweeted that "furious doesn't come close" to her reaction to Tony not being allowed to go on certain rides at the attraction.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, she said: "We even tried to queue up for the little rides but Tony was refused access to those as well.

"It's just not acceptable. We had a very, very disappointed little boy."

Tony, from Kings Hill in Kent, lost his limbs following abuse by his birth parents, who were jailed for 10 years in 2018.

Since then, Ms Hudgell and her family have successfully campaigned for tougher sentencing of child abusers and spoken out on accessibility issues.

On its website, Chessington states its resort "strives to make sure our theme park, zoo and accommodation are easily accessible to all our guests".

However, it adds: "Certain rides/attractions in our parks can be physically demanding and vigorous. We therefore reserve the right to refuse admission should we feel there is a danger."

'Excluded from childhood joys'

Mr Vallis apologised to the family and said he could understand how upsetting it must have been.

But he explained: "Safety is our number one priority. There are three principles we have to work with - that you are secure in the vehicle at all times, that you are able to brace yourself against the movement of the ride and that we are able to evacuate you from the ride."

However, he said the park was working with manufacturers to make new and existing rides as accessible as possible.

"We want everyone to come to Chessington to have a fantastic day. We want to improve accessibility," he said.

Alison Kerry, head of communications at Scope, sympathised with the family.

She said: "There are a huge number of disabled children being excluded from the joys of childhood.

"It's about thinking about inclusive design right from the beginning and making it an inclusive experience for absolutely everybody."

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