Please help me get the right to ride the rides at blackpool!

I am 14 years old and have Cerebral palsy spastic diplegia. Although I have cerebral palsy I am able to walk with minimal support such as a hand or hand rail. I am also fully able to transfer in and out of my wheelchair independently. I have attended the pleasure beach many times before, and I was previously allowed to go on ALL the rides. I went to the pleasure beach yesterday with some friends, I did not expect any problems as my ability set (see above) had not changed since last time. I approached many rides which had the wheelchair accessible symbol( ) yet I was frequently Turned away or asked to “get off” or told “you cant walk unaided”.

I told the pleasure beaches staff on many occasions that I was able to walk with minimal support and that I was being accompanied by an adult, sadly the staff at the pleasure beach still turned me away! Many staff asked my carer “can he walk un aided?” talking to other people instead of me is very undermining and patronising, I have cerebral palsy, I am not a mute. Why would I be in a wheelchair and need to use the wheelchair exit ramps if I could walk un aided! After telling many staff my ability I was still turned away. Being told to often that if I cant walk completely unaided then I can't use the rides.. one staff member even remarked as I got on the ride “thats dodgy walking”, how dare he make such rude comments about me when I try to do the best I can with what I've got.

I ask you, The Pleasure beach why do you have installed ramps for wheelchairs yet not allow wheelchair users to access the pleasure beach rides?. That in its self is paradoxical. Not allowing wheelchair users to use a ride which is signed and often marketed as an accessible ride is and will remain wrong. The wheelchair symbol itself symbolises that something can be used by the disabled, yet you chose to turn me away from so called “accessible” rides. These rides are called accessible and bare a wheelchair symbol, when people in wheelchairs aren't allowed to use them. the pleasure beaches staff decision to refuse my rightful access to the rides I paid for could not be based upon mobility issues as many times I had already managed to get on the rides and demonstrate my ability- when I was told to get off the ride.

On the front of the pleasure beaches staff access guide you state “People matter Here”, well i'll tell you something, I certainly didn't seem to matter to the pleasure beaches staff at all. In the pleasure beaches access guide it says the pepsi max has “Access for guests in wheelchairs is available at the exit from the ride. Guests may remain in their wheelchairs until boarding the ride.” I followed these instructions and as I got on the ride I was told to get off because I wasn't allowed on. I am in good health and would be able to exit via steps in an emergency with minimal support. I maintain full body control. Thus meaning I met the criteria but I was once again discriminated against, even though the ride bares the wheelchair users symbol. This is just one of the many many different types of unfair dismissal from a ride. I use the wheelchair access because I am in a wheelchair, but just because I am in a wheelchair it doesn't mean or shouldn't mean I am unfairly dismissed from a ride. Many other rides are stated to be 'accessible' and I was not allowed to use many of those either.

I was asked by one member of the pleasure beaches staff if I would be able to walk un aided from the peak of a 235ft roller coaster if needed. I would be able to do this with minimal support. But Who in the right mind Would walk from the peak of a roller coaster down the track?! No one would, able bodied or not... but they are still permitted to ride, I know why this is, its because the other riders are not in a wheelchair, they do not have to deal with the discriminant pre-connotations that I do from the pleasure beach staff.

Did you know that Since December 1996 it has been illegal for service providers (like the pleasure beach) to treat disabled people less favourably for a reason related to their disability. Is excluding me from the rides not in a violation of this? Since 1996 the disability discrimination act also says that “providers have to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people such as providing extra help or making changes to the way they provide their services” they haven't done this either so thats another code they've violated. It also later states “service providers must make adjustments to the physical features of their premises to overcome physical barriers to access”. By not fulfilling these laws they violate the discrimination act and as a result i believe they are discriminating against myself.

You took my money for a wrist band to access the rides and then denied me access. you didn't provide me the service I bought, this in its self is actually a criminal offence.

People with disabilities like myself should not and will not be treated as inferior people, you as a theme park have made me feel ashamed of who I am and my disability

I am asking you the public to help me change Blackpool pleasure beach to make it a fair and un discriminant place.

If you have already signed or want to help even more please feel free to shere however you please.

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Nicki Shepherd