Service station success for campaigner Zack Kerr

Congratulations to Zack Kerr who has helped to secure £2 million of Government funding to provide vital facilities for disabled people at motorway service stations.

The Darwen services at junction 4 of the M65 are among those which could now benefit from a Changing Places toilet.

More than 130,000 people world-wide signed an internet petition created by Mr Kerr calling for more of the specially-adapted toilets.

They cater for people with complex needs who require the help of carers to use the toilet, or need changing facilities while out and about, and include equipment like a hoist and a changing bench.

Mr Kerr, 22, from Accrington started the petition after a family holiday to Swansea.

He said:

Because of the holiday traffic, the journey was longer than usual. We stopped at three service stations but none of them had an accessible changing facility for me to use.

By the time we got to our destination I was very angry and upset that disabled travellers like me do not have access to these very basic facilities. I set about launching my online campaign that night.

There are just 18 registered Changing Places toilets at motorway service stations in the UK. They are also available at other locations, including Shop Mobility on Blackburn Market.

The Department for Transport specifically mentioned Mr Kerr’s petition, part of the wider Changing Places campaign, when it announced the funding in its Inclusive Transport Strategy.

Mr Kerr added:

These facilities are nothing short of life-saving for me and over a quarter of a million others like me in the UK.

For those adults and children who are wheelchair users or who have other medical or health needs, changing places toilets are the only toilet facilities which we can use safely.