A TERMINALLY-ill Burma war veteran has been banned from using his mobility scooter to get him to his front door.

Since learning he had motor neurone disease, after moving in to his £300,000 flat a year ago, James Lawrence has relied on his electric scooter to get around.

The former president of the Bournemouth Hotel Association, who served in Burma, India and Dunkirk during the war, was hoping to enjoy what is left of the summer.

But Bourne Estates, block management agents behind The Albany in Manor Road, East Cliff, have prohibited him from using his buggy inside the building because it poses a "safety risk" to elderly residents.

On Saturday, August 6, James, 85, and his wife Joan, were told by a porter that they could not enter the building with the buggy and would have to leave it outside.

Mrs Lawrence, 75, who cares for her husband, said: "We bought the vehicle in early spring but we've only just been told that we cannot use it.

"James only uses it twice per week, otherwise he's housebound. It just makes going out much more of a chore.

"No one has even been to see us about it. I asked to speak to a member of the management group but they were too busy to see us.

"People are allowed to use wheelchairs and shopping trolleys in here so why not a buggy? We bought the larger buggy so we could get along the beach and along to Westbourne."

Steve McWilliams, managing director of Bourne Estates, said: "We have a problem with mobility buggies inside the foyer. We get a lot of elderly people who exercise in the foyer. There have been instances where people have almost been knocked over because the corridors are quite narrow and these buggies can go quite fast.

"We have porters here 24 hours who can provide wheelchairs and people can leave their buggies outside."

However, Jocelyn Murphy, who offers legal advice for the Disability Law Service, believes the onus is on the management group to prove there is a health and safety issue.

"There may be a health and safety justification but they need to provide a risk assessment," she said. "There may also be an insurance angle but they have to provide a risk assessment and then show the only solution is a ban. One idea could be mirrors in the foyer for two-way traffic.

"It should not be the porter's responsibility to provide assistance every time. If the porter injured himself he would have a valid claim."

Don Steele, policy director for the Association of Retired and Persons Over Fifty, said: "This shows that retired people looking to spend their money on somewhere to live should avoid multi-occupancy buildings with management groups but should buy a private bungalow instead."

First published: August 10, 2005