A MOTHER taking her disabled baby to a hospital appointment says she was ordered off a bus by the driver because the child's pram wouldn't fold up!

Karen Croston, from Legh Street, Earlestown, was boarding the number 420 Warrington Borough Transport service from Earlestown station to Warrington with six-month-old daughter, Lucy and her 11-year-old son, Darren when the confrontation occurred.

Lucy suffers from a condition which leaves her visually impaired, with a weakened left side and a hole in the chamber of her heart. As a result, she has to have special equipment with her wherever she goes and her pram carries an oxygen cylinder and an array of medical kits.

Karen said: "I was half-way through the doors of the bus when the driver asked me to fold the pram. I explained I couldn't do it because of all the equipment. Also, Lucy was in a deep sleep and was actually using the oxygen at the time. I would have had to wake her up, take her off the oxygen, move pipes around and then carry her and all the equipment at the same time as folding up the pram. "The driver said he wouldn't let me on if I didn't fold the pram up. Then he pointed to the oxygen and said I couldn't get on with that anyway.

"There were only about six passengers on the bus at the time and they were all furious with the driver. I use the buses quite a bit to get to Alder Hey and have never been refused access because of the pram before. We ended up having to get a taxi to the hospital. Lucy is only six months old and she is already being discriminated against which is wrong. She's not old enough for us to be part of the mobility scheme and we've had to buy another car for fear of this happening again."

Nigel Featham, managing director of Warrington Borough Transport, told the Star: "We are concerned to hear about this situation as customer service is a priority here. We will look into this case and get back to Mrs Croston with our findings."