Leicester temple wheelchair row taxi driver 'suspended'

A taxi driver has been suspended after he refused to help an elderly wheelchair user to the car "in case she fell out".

Saroj Seth MBE, 78, who had her right leg amputated three years ago, asked for help down a ramp at the Shree Geeta Bhavan Temple in Clarendon Park Road, Leicester.

However she said the driver refused, leaving her "humiliated and insulted".

ADT Taxis said the driver has been "suspended indefinitely".

Mrs Seth said: "Most of the drivers are very good but this driver came and just sat there in the car," she said.

"There was no compassion, no kindness.

"He said 'no, it is a liability to take a disabled person' and said he was not going to touch the wheelchair.

"He didn't want to come near me and stood by his car."

Mrs Seth, a former magistrate who was awarded an MBE for services to community cohesion in Leicester in 2011, said she is a regular ADT Taxis customer and on booking warns them she needs assistance

But she added: "That incident left me very angry that with all my hard work, people still haven't understood [about equality], and there is no compassion whatsoever for people who are not able and are dependent on others."

ADT manager Nigel Ord said the firm had "suspended the driver indefinitely" and informed the council's licensing authority.

"The fault lies with us somewhere and we are investigating the incident," he said.

"It is an unfortunate situation and we will learn from this."

A woman who witnessed the conversation said she was "shocked and sickened" by it.

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