A DISABLED man says he is becoming trapped in his home because rail bosses will not install automatic barriers at an unmanned level crossing.

Every time David Birdsall, 47, leaves his home at Whitehouse Farm Cottage, Eaglescliffe, Teesside, he has to get out of his car, phone a signal man to ensure no trains are coming and lift two heavy gates to get over Carter's Crossing, near Teesside Airport.

The process leaves him in agony because of a tumour which has made it difficult for him to walk and without the use of one arm.

He and his landlady, Marjorie Reah, 60, who is also disabled, have written to Network Rail asking for barriers which lift automatically when it is safe to cross.

They say the company has ignored their pleas but now Network Rail has agreed to talks to resolve the issue.

Mr Birdsall said: "I have lived here for about nine years and been disabled for the last three-and-a-half.

"At the moment I can't walk very far at all and I only have the use of one arm, so to lift the gates in and out of place each time is extremely painful.

"It involves getting in and out of the car twice, which is difficult. There are days when I am stuck at the farm because I can't face it."

Mrs Reah, who has arthritis and has had two hip replacements, said: "It takes me so long to walk across the crossing to lift the gate on the other side that I am risking life and limb."

Gordon Pybus, chairman of Darlington Association on Disability, said Network Rail was not complying with the Disability Discrimination Act.

He said: "Mr Birdsall is asking for either a change in the operating procedure of the gates or an auxiliary aid such as a device so he can operate the gate without getting out of his car. This part of the Disability act came in on October 1, 1999."

A Network Rail spokeswoman said there could be a number of reasons why automatic barriers were not suitable for the crossing.

She said: "It's not simply a case of taking out the gates. To do something like that, we'd be looking at a lot of changes to the signals and the track.

"We are going to sit down with Mr Birdsall and look at all of the issues involved to try to resolve the problem."