A Didcot mother has spoken out about disability discrimination she and another mother allegedly faced on the same day when using an inflatable fun park for their children’s parties.

Rebecca Charley booked a party with The Bounce Park in Didcot on Saturday, January 20, stating she called over a week in advance and confirmed arranging access to a party room at the venue at 1pm, before the allotted session for the children started at 2pm, to set up the room and accommodate for her disability.

However, upon arrival on the day, Miss Charley says she was told by a staff member said she could not access the room as agreed in advance and was told by the young manager on shift “your disability is not my problem and I can't do anything".

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Furthermore, she stated that she and many other people present witnessed the same staff member rudely inform her friend, whose daughter is disabled, she could not access the inflatable park to care for and supervise her daughter without payment for herself.

Miss Charley said: “I feel hurt – they made me feel stupid. I felt exhausted from the constant pressure of needing to rush and incredibly let down.

“Every member of our party was offered a free slushie drink by way of an apology but this is not enough.”

Miss Charley suggested the venue’s staff could be correctly versed in discrimination law and that she could be given a refund, even in part.

She added: “I have tried to gain an apology, and nameless e-mails keep being sent that go around in circles. They don't listen.

“The whole party was very expensive, and I could barely be involved because of the setup slot into being offered, as it was promised. I posted a complaint on their social media twice and they kept deleting it. It's a bad look.”

The Bounce Park, based at Willowbrook Leisure Centre and open every weekend, bank holiday and during school holidays, advertises itself as “Oxfordshire’s largest inflatable theme park” with 12 inflatable activities.

It opened in April 2022 and trades under the name of Elite Bounce Ltd.

Managing director Gareth Tucker said: “I am deeply saddened regarding these accusations, as we try our utmost best to cater for people with disabilities – both customers, staff and close families. 

“Unfortunately, there seems to have been a miscommunication at this party, and we were unaware that adjustments were needed before arrival.

“We received a complaint on a Facebook post later that evening, which we had to remove to safeguard our staff.

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“As a small business, we have worked to offer access to customers, regardless of age, ability or disabilities. We currently offer a monthly SEN session which is popular for a number of our customers.”

He added: “We have been in communication with the customer throughout, we have already apologised for the miscommunication.

“We have put into practice and will still look to improve further training and procedures to prevent the miscommunication. However, I strongly refute the discrimination claims.”