Latest news with #wheelchair
Daily Mail
20 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Shocking moment supermarket shopper starts hurling products at customers during self-service rampage - before 'brawling with woman on ground'
A woman in a wheelchair was floored by security after she screamed 'you stupid b****' and hurled items at customers before kicking another shopper to the ground. Carnage unfolded yesterday evening at a Morrisons in Manchester when the lady got in a fight with a person carrying a Happy Birthday balloon. Shocking footage shows the wheelchair fighter grab a product at the self-checkouts and then throw it over the barriers while onlookers gasp and shout 'that's not ok'. Using her leg, she then delivers a blow to the younger female shopper that forces security guards to finally bring her to the ground. The shopper then growls loudly saying 'don't you do that to me ever' and proceeds to hit a separate customer. It is unclear how and why the fight started. A male shopper, whose connection to the events are unclear, then appears to get involved, delivering a light kick to the fuming woman on the floor. She then grapples with her original female opponent. The customer who filmed the exchange has claimed the woman with the wheelchair 'started screaming and throwing things' but had no idea 'what her set off', Manchester Evening News reports. She added: 'To be honest, I am not too sure what set her off. She just started screaming and throwing things. 'Then she got out of her chair and attacked a poor woman who only came in for a balloon.' Another witness alleged the female shopper had begun 'swinging' at an officer after police were called to the supermarket. Greater Manchester Police have confirmed they were called at around 6.15pm to the Morrisons store on Irwell Place in Eccles to reports of two women fighting. One woman was arrested at the scene on suspicion of assault and assaulting a police officer. No further details have been confirmed.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Qantas passenger lashes out after airline commits infuriating act THREE times: 'We sincerely apologise'
A disability advocate has slammed Qantas after her wheelchair was damaged for the third time while flying with the airline. Melbourne woman Zoe Simmons lives with fibromyalgia - a chronic pain condition characterised by widespread muscle pain and tenderness, fatigue, sleep disturbances and cognitive dysfunction. Some individuals who suffer from fibromyalgia use mobility aids, such as a wheelchair, to help manage their symptoms like pain and balance issues. Ms Simmons had booked a round-trip from Australia to Japan and flew with Qantas from Melbourne to Tokyo along with her wheelchair. However, when she returned home and was handed back her wheelchair, she noticed it had sustained substantial damage. She noticed parts of her wheelchair were broken, some of the metal warped and there were scratches that impacted its usability and safety. Ms Simmons noted it wasn't the first time her wheelchair had been damaged, with a more severe incident occurring in 2024 and 2021 - both while travelling with Qantas. Qantas did arrange for Ms Simmons' wheelchair to be repaired through a partnered repair service following her recent trip. Ms Simmons said it was unfair for disabled passengers to accept they have to repair their mobility aids themselves if damaged by the airline. 'I just hate that it's so common, like what are they doing to our wheelchairs that causes metal to warp and break,' she told Yahoo. 'Last time I flew with them, they broke my wheelchair controller off. And it was just laughed off! I didn't have the energy to fight for such a small thing then.' Ms Simmons added she had to explain the damage to her wheelchair to several of the airport staff who she said responded with 'dismissive sympathy'. When speaking to a manager, Ms Simmons said people with disabilities always advocated for themselves. The manager denied the claim that the burden fell on people with disabilities, claiming there were procedures and policies in place to advocate for them. Ms Simmons criticised airlines on how mobility aids are treated, claiming carriers needed to stop treating wheelchairs as baggage and start handling them with respect. She has called for airlines to implement better staff training, stronger policies and public reporting on wheelchair damage during travel. From December 2018, airlines in the United States were required to report any damage sustained to wheelchairs and scooters during travel. Monthly reports consistently show between 25 and 30 wheelchairs are damaged during domestic travel every day in the US. Ms Simmons said airlines in Australia lack transparency and do not record or report incidents where mobility aids are damaged. Qantas reached out to Ms Simmons and advised her that their designated repairer did not service her type of wheelchair. Ms Simmons then provided them with the details of a repairer who could fix her wheelchair. 'I am not that angry about my chair. What I'm angry about is that this is what we are expected to put up with — and much, much worse — every time we fly,' Ms Simmons said. In a statement, Qantas said the airline 'sincerely apologised' for Ms Simmons' ordeal. 'We sincerely apologise to Ms Simmons for the damage caused to her wheelchair,' a spokesman said. 'We know how critically important mobility aids are, and we are investigating how this damage occurred. 'We are working closely with Ms Simmons to ensure the repairs are facilitated as soon as possible.'
The Sun
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Devastated Big Brother star Imogen Thomas admits she's ‘traumatised' after ‘last' holiday with seriously ill mum
IMOGEN Thomas has called out easyJet for breaking her seriously ill mother's wheelchair on a flight. The 42-year-old star has flown to Italy with her mother Janet, who was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) in 2023. However, after suffering trouble on the flight, her mother's wheelchair is now broken, and the Big Brother star has blamed the airline for their lack of communication and called on them to help her. Sharing a photo of the broken chair, Imogen wrote on Instagram: "We've arrived in Italy but are traumatised. Easyjet have broke my mums electric wheelchair. "It will not fold and is unstable. We are beyond upset and I'm here trying to console my mum as much as possible." Explaining she went on social media as a last resort, Imogen shared her frustration with the airline's customer service system. "I've been on the chat to make a claim now it's disappeared," she said. "Called Easyjet and they told me nothing can be done on the phone only on the live chat. "Now I can't start a new chat as my old one is already open and it doesn't allow me although it's disappeared from my phone." "Please help me Easyjet this is our last holiday abroad as my mum's MSD is progressing," she added. "We are only here for a couple of days and it's ruined. "How on earth can this wheelchair break during transit in the hold? Beyond devastated. We had every reason to be nervous about this flight." When approached for comment, an easyJet representative told The Sun Online: " We are very sorry for the damage caused to Ms. Thomas' mother's wheelchair during transit and for the difficulty she experienced trying to get in touch with us. Big Brother star Imogen Thomas looks incredible as she strips off to black bikini on holiday "We have been in contact with the family to apologise and offer any assistance we can. "We understand how important it is for our customers to feel confident that essential items like this will be well cared for when travelling with us. "We are urgently looking into this with our ground handling partners." Imogen revealed her mother's motor neurone disease in January last year, six months after the initial diagnosis. Imogen went on to explain that she and Janet have decided to speak out publicly for several reasons. The star, who has two daughters of her own, said they are keen to raise awareness of MND and also hope Janet will be able to connect with others "who understand what she is going through". They added they were inspired to go public with the diagnosis after Coronation Street aired a storyline where character Paul Foreman had the disease. Motor Neurone Disease, which currently has no cure, is a rare disease that affects the brain and nerves, and causes weakness that gets worse over time. It slowly robs patients of the ability to walk, talk and eat, although every sufferer is different. 5 5 5
BBC News
5 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Maidstone welcomes new community-run mobility service
A new community-run mobility service has launched in a town in Mobility, which offers short-term wheelchair loans and other mobility aids, has opened in Hermitage Court in organisation, which also refurbishes equipment, is run entirely by volunteers and has received the space from property developers The Gallagher Naghi, Maidstone Borough Council's cabinet member for community cohesion and safety, said: "We all recognise the value of what Wheeleasy is doing. It's practical, it's community-led, and it's already making a real difference." Nicky Callow, who helped establish Wheeleasy Mobility, added: "People come in needing a wheelchair, but often, that's not quite what they need."Maybe the footplates aren't right, or the chair's too heavy. You only find that out by seeing them in person, by trying things out together."That local, human touch, and that's what we were determined to maintain."Wheeleasy Mobility is also encouraging donations of wheelchairs, walkers and toileting aids.
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Travel + Leisure
26-05-2025
- Travel + Leisure
This Airline Was Named No. 1 for Wheelchair Accessibility
If you are planning on flying with a wheelchair, there's one airline with a higher approval rating than its competitors. A new study by InsureMyTrip ranks which airlines are great with wheelchairs and which ones fall short based on data from the Air Travel Consumer Report by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The analysis looked at the number of mishandled wheelchairs and scooters, and took into account the quantity of enplaned wheelchairs and scooters to calculate the ranking. The top-ranked airline for wheelchair accessibility is JetBlue, which boasts the highest positive sentiment in the survey at 97 percent. JetBlue enplaned 29,147 wheelchairs and other mobility devices in 2024. Delta Airlines also ranked well, with the lowest percentage of mishandled wheelchairs. The airline is also in the process of designing a seat that will allow travelers with wheelchairs to use their wheelchairs on the plane. Ranked third best is Alaska Airlines. The lowest ranked airline is Frontier Airlines, with the highest percentage of negative sentiment and the highest rate of one-star reviews mentioning wheelchairs. American Airlines and Spirit Airlines also received low rankings. (In 2024, the Department of Transportation fined American Airlines $50 million because of its treatment of fliers with wheelchairs.) More than five million people in the U.S. use a wheelchair while traveling, and mobility devices can cost thousands of dollars, making travel with certain airlines a potentially fraught and expensive experience. 'Air travel should be accessible for everyone, but that's far from the reality. We hope this study shines a light on which airlines are getting it right and which have room for improvement—so wheelchair users can make an informed decision when booking a flight,' Sara Boisvert, director of marketing at InsureMyTrip, said in a statement shared with Travel + Leisure . In December, new rules from the Department of Transportation came into effect requiring airlines to have stricter standards for accommodating passengers with wheelchairs, as well as requiring airlines to compensate travelers for any damage to their wheelchairs. Several U.S. airlines are challenging the rules in court, claiming it is regulatory overreach.
