A Disabled man who struggles to talk clearly was told he would be dropped off in the dark on a country road after a taxi driver got lost, it has been claimed.

A complaint has been lodged with the Taxi Inspection Centre - also known as the Hackney Office - in Aberdeen following the alleged incident.

The self-employed taxi driver, who was sent on the job by Rainbow City Taxis, had been asked to take Murray McLeod, 63, of Ashley Lodge, Aberdeen, to a pantomime at Midmar.

The village hall venue, off the B9119 Tarland road some 15 miles west of the city, had been clearly marked out in typewritten directions by a friend of Mr McLeod.

Jenny Begg, 55, had hoped to bring her friend, who has severe physical disabilities, and his elderly companion, Sheila Woolner, to the event on Friday night.

Mrs Begg, of Midmar, had helped organise the seasonal pantomime and sent through the instructions which listed road numbers, roundabouts, signs and landmarks in detail.

She claims the male taxi driver - who was an hour late picking them up at Great Western Road- got as far as Garlogie then gave up and said he would take them back to Aberdeen for GBP20.

Mrs Begg said: "Murray tried to negotiate the fare to GBP10 to which the driver said he would drop them off at the nearest bus stop." In a strongly-worded letter to Rainbow City Taxis, she said her friends had been treated "horrendously" and demanded management cut ties with the driver.

She added: "We’ve never had trouble with them before. Murray used to use them often when he worked. It’s very disappointing but shows how often disabled people are treated so badly by others." Gordon Mackay, customer services manager for the taxi firm, apologised to Mrs Begg for the alleged incident and said the company "would not tolerate any nonsense" from drivers.

He added: "We can’t comment much because we have passed the complaint on to the Hackney Office.

"It is being investigated and the driver is being dealt with. It obviously gives Rainbow a bad name." He said the driver is self-employed but pays the company for use of its radio system. The driver will continue to work ahead of the Taxi Inspection Centre ruling.

The centre, which is linked to Grampian Police and local authorities, can revoke a driver’s licence in extreme cases.

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A Disabled rights activist last night urged other public bodies to follow the example of NHS Grampian when addressing equal rights for disabled people.

Tony Miller, of the Scottish Disability Equality Forum, said that the health authority had set the benchmark with their disability equality scheme, which was presented to the NHS Grampian Board yesterday.

Under new Disability Discrimination Act legislation which came into force on Monday, hundreds of public organisations, from local libraries to the NHS, have been affected by the Disability Equality Duty, which requires them to consider the needs of disabled people.

Under the Act, NHS Grampian was required to produce and publish a disability equality scheme and action plans that show how it intends to meet the new duty.

The organisation met with local disabled people and their representative bodies to gauge their requirements.

Mr Miller, from Peterhead, feels that disabled people are finally getting their say and that NHS Grampian is leading the way.

He said: "NHS Grampian have involved disabled people in drawing up this scheme right from the beginning and we have been able to help them formulate a strategy.

"All statutory organisations should take a leaf out of NHS Grampian’s book, because they (NHS Grampian) are listening to what disabled people want, rather than telling them what they need." NHS Grampian has assessed the health needs of the region’s disabled people and produced a scheme outlining how they can be supported, assisted, and how NHS staff are being better trained to help disabled people.

Board chairman Jim Royan has said he would like to see NHS Grampian set the standard in disability equality. He said: "This target will only be achieved with the hard work and commitment of all staff, the support of disabled people, their representative organisations and partner agencies.

He added: "It is vital NHS Grampian reaches out to each individual to identify their healthcare needs and address them - our emphasis must be on practical, measurable and sustainable improvements." Communities Minister Malcolm Chisholm has welcomed the new rules, introduced on Monday, saying: "We believe that disabled people should have the opportunity and choice to play an active part in Scottish society." Public bodies will have to show they are designing out discrimination, rather than waiting for people to complain before making changes.

One million people in Scotland have rights under the Disability Discrimination Act.

TAG: world disability news