Call for change to mobility scooter laws after death

Mrs Young's son said she was an "extremely active, chatty, lively, independent 92-year-old"

The son of a woman who died after she was hit by a mobility scooter wants the laws around their use to be "completely changed".

Natalie Young, 92, died five weeks after being hit at a Morrisons supermarket in Taunton on 9 March 2022.

The driver of the scooter has never been identified and police judged them not to have committed any crime.

Mrs Young's son, Robin, said the current lack of regulation around mobility scooters needed tightening.

Speaking to BBC Points West, the 55-year-old customer support specialist said he believed that people should have to have insurance and an eyesight test before they drive one.

"We don't want people not to have them (mobility scooters) but there should be a law where you can't just drive out of a shop after knocking someone down," he said.

Mrs Young with her three sons in Zimbabwe in 2018

"There is no eyesight test, no tuition - anyone can go in and buy one. They don't need any insurance either.

"It (the law) needs to be completely changed. At the end of the day if people can't drive one then they shouldn't be having one.

"We don't want to stop their use - we just don't want anyone else to go through what we have."

Mr Young revealed that before her death, his mother was a "super active" pensioner who walked two miles every day and lived independently.

Mrs Young frequently travelled

On the day of the accident, she had left her apartment in Pegasus Court - which is opposite the supermarket - to pick up a few items, her son explained.

The mother-of-three - who moved from Zimbabwe to Exeter with her late husband David Young and children in 1986 - was queuing to pay when the scooter "accelerated forward, ploughing into her", an inquest heard.

Staff at the supermarket later took Mrs Young to Musgrove Hospital where she spent several weeks in "severe pain" after breaking one of her arms.

David and Natalie Young pictured in 1996

During her stay Mrs Young - whose husband died from heart failure in 1996 - also developed a chest infection and loss of mobility.

Despite being discharged on 9 April, the widow's condition steadily worsened and she was readmitted to the hospital with severe sepsis and an acute kidney injury on 14 April.

She died that day, with senior coroner for Somerset Samantha Marsh ruling in February that her death had "arisen solely as a consequence of the injuries she had sustained, and the resultant immobility, following a fall".

David and Natalie Young married in 1958

Mr Young, from Newbury in Berkshire, said that Avon and Somerset Constabulary "did everything they could" but he criticised Morrisons for showing "no compassion".

He said he was "very disappointed" with the company.

In response, a spokesperson from Morrisons said: "This was a tragedy for the Young family and we extend our most sincere condolences for their terrible loss.

"We have received detailed correspondence from the family and will be providing a full response to them and are extremely sorry that this has not been provided sooner."

Mr Young said he had been in touch with his MP Laura Farris who had been "really good" and had passed on his concerns to the Department of Transport.

'Consider training'

Mark Harper MP, the transport secretary, issued a response to the coroner's report.

It stated that all road users, including mobility vehicle users, have a responsibility to themselves and to others to behave in "a safe and appropriate manner".

Mobility vehicle users are encouraged to have an assessment with a dealer or supplier prior to acquiring them and to undertake training where possible.

The statement read: "We encourage all users of mobility scooters to consider training to ensure that they can confidently handle their vehicle in all conditions.

"The department seeks to improve the safe use of mobility vehicles, while ensuring that they remain accessible for the people who use them and for whom they are a lifeline."