A DISABLED man was forced to drive his mobility scooter 16 miles along country lanes for three hours to get to a hospital appointment because guards stopped him taking it on a train.

First Great Western said Paul Jeffrey, 43, could not take his scooter on the train from Didcot Parkway to Oxford because it was too big and could prove dangerous.

Mr Jeffrey, of Laburnum Grove, Didcot, who suffers chronic asthma, diabetes, heart problems, and high blood pressure, took his 8mph scooter through back roads to get to Churchill Hospital, in Headington on Friday.

He then had to wait at the hospital for five hours while his scooter battery re-charged.

He arrived home 11 hours after he set out and Mr Jeffrey said: “They just said I could not get on the train at all.

“I asked to see the rules in black and white, and they could not show it to me.

“I was not doing any harm — all I had to go was one stop from Didcot to Oxford. It meant that I nearly missed my appointment, and had to go all the way through country lanes to get there.”

Mr Jeffrey, who cannot drive and lives with his disabled mother, said he was worried other vulnerable people would be left abandoned on the station platform in the same way.

He has previously taken his scooter on a train as far as Feltham, to visit his sister, without any problems.

He added: “I’m not only speaking for myself. I’m speaking for others out there who are disabled.”

First Great Western’s policy says only mobility scooters that can be folded down and carried on as luggage are allowed.

Other train companies impose size limits or ask owners to apply for a pass.

Spokesman Dan Panes said operators’ rules varied because of differing carriage sizes.

He said it was not safe to allow mobility scooters on board because they blocked doors and could not fit into carriages.

He added: “We do make our policy on mobility scooters absolutely clear both on our website and through our customer service phoneline.

“We are really sorry we are not able to carry them. We would love to be able to, but we cannot carry them at the expense of the safety of other passengers.”

Andy Burns, of Didcot disability firm True Mobility, said: “To many people, these are lifelines. If they are not able to drive and not able to walk, this is their means of getting around.

“First Great Western need to change their policy and keep up with the times.”