CARS, wheelie bins, bikes and dropped kerbs – these are some of the obstacles that stop disabled people going about their daily lives in Oxford.

Bikes tethered to bus stops block wheelchair access to public transport, badly parked cars force disabled people into busy city roads, and wheelie bins and sign boards obstruct Oxford’s pavements.

Now disability campaigners have urged members of the public to send the Oxford Mail their own photographs of the hazards that prevent disabled people from moving freely around the county.

Pressure group Oxfordshire Unlimited hopes the images will prompt cyclists, drivers and shopkeepers to think about their actions.

The photographs published today were taken by retired teacher Gwynneth Pedler, of Cumnor Hill, who uses a mobility scooter to travel around the city.

The 85-year-old said: “Bicycles are the biggest banes of our lives.

“I don’t think many cyclists think whether they will block wheelchair access where they leave their bikes.

“People either don’t know, or don’t think.

“But disabled people have as much right as anyone to expect things to be accessible if at all possible.”

Other regular problems experienced by disabled people include cars parked in front of dropped kerbs where wheelchairs and mobility scooters can cross the road, and advertising signs and wheelie bins blocking pavements.

Oxfordshire Unlimited chairman Peter Hindshaw, 66, who has to use an electric wheelchair since breaking his neck in a road accident 46 years ago, said: “This issue has constantly received our attention for 20 years, but not necessarily the wider public’s.

“I have to talk to people for a long time to explain the restrictions being in a wheelchair places on life.

“It means I can only go where my wheelchair can go. It is very simple what that means: if something is in your way, you either do not go out, or you have to go into the road in your wheelchair.”

He added: “The places people leave bikes are very often the result of sheer carelessness and a lack of awareness. They have to fasten their bike to something, and that is very often a lamppost or drainpipe in the pavement. We just need to get people to think.”

lsloan@oxfordmail.co.uk Send your images of disabled hazards to the email address above