A
theme park has been accused of making a blind three-year-old boy get up from his
wheelchair so he could be measured before getting on a ride.
Cameron Alderman visited Drayton Manor, in Staffordshire, with his family for a Christmas party trip organised by the charity Blind Children UK last Sunday.
But after they queued for 20 minutes to use the popular Jolly Buccaneer ride, a female staff member said Cameron needed to stand up to make sure he met the one-metre height requirement,
reports the Bristol Post.
Mum Carla Golledge, 26, from Bradley Stoke, told the woman about Cameron's disability and explained he is well above one metre tall, but after a 'rude' exchange was sent to the park's Guest Services.
It was there that a team leader then asked dad Adam Alderman, 31, to hold Cameron's legs straight and his head up while he was measured.
The youngster became increasingly distressed and Cameron's family eventually left after the team leader told them he couldn't be measured properly – but that he 'looks under a metre'.
Mum-of-three Carla said she was disgusted by the way her family was treated.
Drayton Manor has since offered the family a free day out, but Carla fears without the right training, other people with disabilities could face the same experience.
Cameron suffers from Norrie disease, a disorder which means he is totally blind, and the youngster uses a wheelchair because of mobility issues.
Carla said: "We were queuing for that ride and it said the minimum height, and Cameron is well over a metre high.
"He finds it difficult to stand up and uses a wheelchair to get around outside, and when we got to the front of the queue the staff member said she needs to measure him. I explained he probably would not stand up.
"She was just really rude, saying 'at the end of the day he will have to stand up to be measured or there's nothing else we can do'.
"She would not measure him any other way and she refused him access to the ride.
Carla said the queue for the ride was growing and the family began to feel embarrassed by how staff were treating them.
"She was saying you need to hold him to stand up and I said he can't physically stand up on his own," Carla said.
"I said it's too busy, he's really nervous and you're forcing him to try and do something. He's going to get upset.
"We went to guest services where I explained the situation. The woman in there gave us a queue jump pass but said Cameron would still have to be measured at every single ride."
A team leader was called and Adam went into the Guest services while Carla watched the couple's other children, seven-year-old Indie and seven-week-old baby Morgan.
Carla said: "The team leader came inside and offered to measure Cameron and asked Adam to hold his legs straight onto the floor whilst trying to hold Cameron's legs up.
"By this point Cameron was getting really distressed and upset, because he doesn't understand what's going on and in a way, they were trying to force him to stand straight and keep still."
But after forcing little Cameron to try and stand, the team leader eventually said he couldn't be measured properly so wouldn't be allowed on some rides.
Carla added: "I think it's disgusting how you can force a child with mobility issues to do something he doesn't understand and make him really upset.
"It was meant to be relaxing family day out. By this stage my partner was getting really frustrated and angry for trying to force us to do something like that.
"In the end my partner just picked up Cameron and walked out of Guest Services. We were really upset. We had only just arrived and we wanted to go home already."
The youngster's condition means he is severely delayed and only feels comfortable enough walking at home.
His mum said: "He will cruise around the furniture. He still needs support holding on to us or the furniture, and because he's not got any visibility it's quite scary when he's outside in a big open space with nothing to hold onto. That's why he can't stand outside."
Drayton Manor has invited the family back for a free day out, including lunch, but Carla wants staff to be trained in helping people with disabilities.
She said: "I didn't just complain for free access. I don't want this happening again to other families. It's really stressful having a disabled child as it is and it just added to the stress and it didn't start the day well.
"First of all I felt upset. We had been treat this way and were made to force Cameron to get out of his wheelchair which was making him upset. I was really angry.
"We were treated like that. I spoke to two different staff members and they were not helping us and I feel angry and in the end we just had to walk away from the situation.
"I feel they could use more training because when I first queued up for that ride the lady was rude and not helpful and embarrassed us in front of everybody."
Steve Lomas, head of park operations at Drayton Manor Park, said: "During a group visit to Drayton's Magical Christmas on Sunday 4 December, Cameron Golledge and his family went to ride the Jolly Buccaneer, which has a minimum height requirement of 1 metre and all children under 1.2 metres must be accompanied by an adult.
"To ensure Cameron was safe to go on the ride, the family were directed to our Guest Services department and his parents gave consent for Cameron to be measured to ensure he could demonstrate the brace position required for the ride's health and safety. During this time, he became upset.
"We have been in contact with the family directly and we value their feedback. The health and safety of our visitors is of paramount importance and riders must meet height restrictions on the Jolly Buccaneer to ensure their safety and wellbeing is in line with the ride manufacturer and HSE guidance and regulations."
