The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Vandals target young father’s wheelchair
Adisabled man has been left “depressed” after vandals have repeatedly targeted his electric wheelchair – including urinating on it.
He and his partner are pleading with their local authority to rehouse them following a spate of incidents at their home in Arbroath.
Erin Mullen is the primary carer for her partner, Ben Dryden, who suffers from a condition called Friedreich’s ataxia, which causes progressive nervous system damage.
The 20-year-old is confined to a wheelchair and is reliant on his 19-year-old partner to carry him up 15 stairs should he need to leave their flat on Millgate Loan.
The couple have asked Angus Council for a more suitable property but reached breaking point when Erin was forced to contact the police after discovering Ben’s wheelchair had been urinated on.
The mother-of-one said this was one issue in a long line of problems due to the wheelchair being stored on the ground floor.
“How could anyone stoop so low to urinate on someone’s wheelchair?” Erin said. “This has been an ongoing problem for at least the past six months and has definitely been a contributing factor for requesting a move.
“Given Ben’s condition the flat isn’t suitable anyway but we’ve had occasions when the battery out of the wheelchair has been stolen and we’ve had the extensions cut up which help to charge it.”
The couple have placed signs asking people to respect the wheelchair is private property, but these have also been destroyed.
She added: “Ben is basically bed-bound, he’s got a spinal fusion because he had Scoliosis – a sideway curvature of the spine – as part of his condition. Me having to carry him up those stairs is challenging and to make life even harder someone is tampering with his wheelchair.
“On Friday I dropped our little boy off at nursery. Just before I left I set up the extension and put the wheelchair on charge and went to the shop.
“I came back and the extension was unplugged and there was a really strong smell of urine from the wheelchair and it was soaked which is disgusting.
“Ben is completely depressed by the ongoing situation, it’s disheartening to think someone is going out of their way to do this.”
An Angus Council spokeswoman said: “We work with customers to try and find accommodation solutions that meet their needs. However, the shortage of affordable housing means applicants may have to wait longer than we would ideally like.”
A spokeswoman for Police Scotland confirmed they are investigating an incident of vandalism.
It is truly disgusting that anyone would stoop so low as to urinate on a disabled person’s wheelchair.
Arbroath dad Ben Dryden’s life is challenging enough dealing with the effects of Friedrich’s ataxia without pathetic individuals making things worse. Hopefully they can be identified and punished.