Abbey Fields disabled toilet '˜worst I've ever seen', claims mobility scooter user from Kenilworth

The disabled toilet in Abbey Fields. The bump by the men's toilet and the narrow walkway make it difficult to access

Liz Setchell, 72, of Archer Road, tried to use the toilet while she was attending Kenilworth Carnival on Saturday July 1.

The toilet is located between the men’s and the ladies’ toilet built into the side of the swimming pool building. It is accessible by a narrow concrete walkway, with a sharp right-angled turn on either side.

Liz said this made the toilet very difficult to access in her scooter, as she was unable to manoeuvre it easily within the tight space.

The access from the ladies' side. The turn is very tight for mobility scooter and wheelchair users

Before she used the toilet, Liz said another lady in a wheelchair was using it, with someone else having to watch the door as it would not shut properly. The lady also struggled to exit easily.

When Liz went to use the toilet after her, she said the floor was sticky and smelled ‘really bad’.

Liz added: “I’ve never seen anything as bad, honestly. It’s just not nice.

“It’s the worst I’ve ever seen for access, and they were dirty as well.

The narrow walkway next to the disabled toilet entrance

“One direction goes to the gents’ and one to the ladies’, but there’s a great big bump in the way on one side.

“You can only go in one way and out one way - I had to back my scooter up.”

Liz has been using a mobility scooter for just over a year now, and said she did not appreciate just how difficult it was for disabled poeple to use the toilet in the Fields until recently.

She also said the higher amount of older people in Kenilworth who may develop mobility problems meant the toilets needed to be improved.

A spokesman for Warwick District Council, who are responsible for public toilet in the district including in Abbey Fields, said: “We are very sorry this member of the public had such a bad experience.

“The Abbey Fields public toilets are cleaned three times a day during the summer months, however as there was an event on that day so the usage would have been greater.

“We haven’t had any previous issues with access to the building or cleanliness, but we will look into this incident.”

And commenting on Liz’s difficulty in accessing the toilet, the council spokesman added: “We are aware that some members of the public may have difficulties with access due to the age and layout of the building.

“If anyone is experiencing any access issues when Abbey Fields Swimming Pool is open then Everyone Active would be very pleased to welcome them to use the facilities within the swimming pool instead.”