Disabled passenger ‘forced to urinate in her wheelchair & sit in it for hours’ when train broke down

Judy Lawson said she couldn’t manoeuvre the chair into the GWR train toilet (Picture: BPM Media/PA)

A disabled woman has hit out at Great Western Railway after severe delays and a slew of complications forced her to sit in her own urine at a bus stop until 5am.

Judy Lawson, 55, boarded a 7.15pm train from St Ives to Plymouth after a recent day out with her daughter and grandson.

The train was kept stationary for around three hours after another passenger allegedly pulled the stop cord, prolonging the journey from two to five hours.

While it was fitted with disabled toilets, the train’s layout meant Judy was unable to enter on her electric wheelchair, which she has become dependent on after having her leg amputated below the knee last year.

She said: ‘As soon as my chair is in, the toilet is right next to the arm of my wheelchair and the sink is right next to where my legs are. So there was no way I could get out at all.’

Judy explained her situation to the train conductor, who asked if the wheelchair’s arm could be removed but this was not possible.

She continued: ‘As an alternative he was looking for something I could pee in. I ended up having to sit in my own accident.

‘It was embarrassing – I couldn’t use the toilet to get changed or anything like that.’

When the train finally arrived in Plymouth it was well past midnight.

To make matters worse, an air conditioning unit broke and poured cold water all over her while she was waiting for a ramp to get down, she said.

Judy said GWR’s staff on the train had been helpful and gave her updates during the journey.

But, while they organised taxis for most passengers, they were unable to find any who could accommodate Judy’s wheelchair at the time.

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