Disabled Woman Had to Crawl on Hands and Knees to Get Off Train

A wheelchair user was left in tears after she says she had to crawl on her hands and knees through three train carriages because a ramp could not be used to help her off at Bath Spa.

Phoebe Tesoriere, 24, was travelling with her parents on a Great Western Railway (GWR) service from London Paddington to Bath Spa in December 2025 when the incident happened.

Phoebe, who has hereditary spastic paraplegia, said her family had contacted the assistance desk before travelling and had been taken to the designated wheelchair space.

Her mother specifically asked whether a ramp and assistance would be available when they reached Bath Spa.

The family says they were assured that assistance would be provided.

But when the train arrived at Bath Spa, they were told that Phoebe's carriage was beyond the platform and that she could not safely leave the train using the ramp.

'I had to crawl through three carriages'

Phoebe said staff told the family to remain on the train and travel to Bristol Temple Meads, around 15 to 20 minutes further along the route.

They were then told they could buy another ticket to return to Bath Spa.

The family said that was not a practical option because Phoebe's grandparents were waiting at Bath Spa to collect them and take Phoebe back to Caerphilly, where she was living at the time.

Phoebe said she was subsequently told to try to take her wheelchair through the train.

However, she said the wheelchair was unable to fit through the aisle.

She then crawled through three carriages.

"I was crying. People were staring," she said.

One passenger, according to Phoebe, tried to comfort her and told her that what was happening was not acceptable.

Phoebe described the experience as humiliating.

Her mother, Kirstin Tesoriere, said watching her daughter crawl through the train was traumatic and left her feeling helpless.

Family says assistance should have been available

Phoebe said staff had asked several times during the journey which station she would be getting off at.

Despite this, she said the family was not informed that the carriage they had been directed to would stop beyond the platform at Bath Spa.

Her parents eventually helped lift her back into her wheelchair so she could leave the train using the ramp.

Phoebe says staff were not waiting to provide the assistance she had expected.

The incident has had an ongoing impact on the family.

Kirstin said they have not used public transport since what happened because Phoebe is now frightened about travelling by train.

She said the family had wanted to make positive memories together and had taken the London trip as a Christmas outing.

Phoebe wants better accessible transport

Phoebe said she wants to see significant improvements in accessible transport across the UK.

"It's ridiculous that disabled passengers are still expected to go through this," she said.

She also challenged the perception that public transport is now universally accessible to disabled people.

Phoebe's condition is expected to become more severe over time, making reliable accessibility particularly important to her independence and ability to travel.

For her family, the issue is not simply what happened on one journey.

It is the effect the experience has had on their confidence in using public transport again.

GWR admits it 'let her down'

GWR has apologised to Phoebe and acknowledged that her experience was unacceptable.

In correspondence seen by BBC Wales, the company said there had been opportunities to identify the problem before the train reached Bath Spa but that it had failed to do so.

The company said the situation, including Phoebe having to leave the train in the circumstances she described, was "entirely avoidable".

GWR also said it had made changes to how passenger assistance is managed for customers travelling from London Paddington following Phoebe's complaint.

In a statement to BBC Wales, the company said:

"We are really sorry. Ms Tesoriere should have been able to travel with confidence and dignity and we let her down."

GWR said it had apologised to Phoebe personally and had made improvements to its assistance arrangements.

Complaint took months to resolve

Phoebe made a formal complaint to GWR on the day of the incident.

According to the BBC report, the company's investigation was not completed until May.

GWR's response confirmed that Phoebe would receive compensation.

However, Phoebe says she has still not received the payment despite providing her bank details and has been unable to get a satisfactory response to emails since June.

Almost nine months after making her complaint, she says she is still trying to obtain an answer.

GWR said it was doing everything it could to complete the final steps of the compensation process as quickly as possible.

'No disabled passenger should ever have to crawl'

The incident raises wider questions about accessibility, passenger assistance and the practical experience of disabled people using public transport.

A passenger can have a wheelchair space booked and assistance requested, but those arrangements are only meaningful if the train, platform and staff are properly coordinated when the passenger arrives at their destination.

For Phoebe and her family, the consequences went far beyond an inconvenience.

They describe an experience that was distressing, humiliating and has left Phoebe fearful of using public transport.

Phoebe's message is simple:

"No disabled passenger should ever have to crawl."

GWR has accepted that what happened should not have happened and says changes have been made as a result of the complaint.

The wider question is whether those changes will help ensure other disabled passengers can travel with the dignity, independence and confidence they should reasonably expect.

Accessible transport is not simply about whether a wheelchair can fit on a train. It is about whether a disabled passenger can complete their journey safely and with dignity.