The BBC has apologised and says it will investigate the incident further
The full-time carer of a severely disabled man has claimed conditions for disabled people at the BBC Biggest Weekend event were "barbaric".
The carer, who wishes to remain anonymous, told CoventryLive she believed the area reserved for disabled guests at the event in War Memorial Park was "a health hazard" and alleges it was like a "chicken pen".
She attended with her 52-year-old patient, who is wheelchair bound and can only communicate using his eyes, on the Sunday of the bank holiday weekend festival.
She said: “This was a massive thing for him because he doesn’t get to leave the house very often. This was a gift from me to him and he was so excited."
She told CoventryLive the act he really wanted to see was Liam Gallagher , but they left before he came on after a steward asked her to sit down while she was trying to communicate with him.
“My patient is non-verbal, I had to stand up to speak to him because he communicates using his eyes. I was told to sit behind him," she explained.
"One of the stewards tapped me on the shoulder and asked me to sit down. I explained I had to stand to see to my patient. I couldn’t just sit next to him and speak to him, I have to look at his eyes.
"She told me if I didn’t sit down she’d have to ask us to leave."
The woman claims three "big burly security men" arrived to escort her from the premises.
She continued: "By this time I was raging – it was embarrassing, it was intimidating. We were right at the front of this pen so everyone was looking at us. So I just said don't worry, we're leaving."
The BBC told CoventryLive the woman's experience did not reach its "high standards" and it would be contacting the security suppliers to investigate further.
The carer described the conditions as "barbaric" and claimed the space allocated to disabled guests, which she estimates had about 75 people in, was not big enough.
"The area that was allocated to us was absolutely terrible. It was no bigger than my back garden. There was one way in and one way out – you couldn’t get two wheelchairs past each other without a collision," she said.
"It was like a chicken pen, it wasn’t big enough for everyone in there. I felt it was a health hazard.
“It was barbaric really."
Posted: Thu May 31, 2018 2:51 pm