TIMES: THE plight of a Chippenham man banned from using trains because his disabled buggy was labelled a health and safety hazard has been raised in Parliament.

North Wilts MP James Gray said he was "very unhappy" about the case of Downing Street resident Graham Coe and now wants support from the same address in London.

The 49-year-old is a Bath rugby fan and for six years had travelled by train from Chippenham in his battery-powered scooter to watch his team play.

But in August operator First Great Western banned him from all its trains and platforms claiming it could not carry the vehicle for size and safety reasons.

This left Mr Coe "a prisoner in Chippenham", but his campaign against the ban is backed by a number of MPs and more than 800 Bath fans have signed a petition.

On Tuesday Mr Gray asked transport minister Charlotte Atkins to put Government pressure on the train firm and gave her a copy of Mr Coe's correspondence.

Mr Gray said: "Will the Minister assure First Great Western that it is her intention to allow constituents such as Mr Coe maximum access to First Great Western trains, and that she will do whatever she can to avoid this perverse consequence of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995?"

Ms Atkins replied: "We will certainly look at all those issues but it is clearly a matter for the train operating company."

Mr Coe, who has been disabled for six years after three strokes, says the scooter is his lifelife and is confident of winning his battle.

He said: "I'm glad it's gone to Westminster. I'm pleased because somebody has got to look at it and look at it in great detail because there are more and more of these vehicles around.

"I want to see justice not only for myself, but for other disabled rail users. They've picked on the wrong man."

"They've taken the right to travel away from me. Without my wheels I might as well have my legs taken away from me.

"All that they've come up with is that they are not discriminating against me as an individual."

Mr Coe says other train operators using the same rolling stock, such as ScotRail and Great North Eastern, permit scooters. He is also angry that FGW allows wheelchairs 25cm longer and 7kg lighter than his scooter to use its trains.

First Great Western has said not carrying powered scooters is company policy and in line with most other operators.