A COUNCILLOR has been taken for a terrifying wheelchair ride around Thirsk by a resident who is fed-up with the access problems faced by disabled and elderly people in the town.

Mr Lionel Twiss, who has a disabled son, is sick of complaining about the problems, so asked Coun David Murkett to experience firsthand how difficult it is for wheelchair users in Thirsk.

One of Mr Twiss's concerns is that there is no temporary ramp on a kerb near the town's library, making it very difficult for anyone in a wheelchair, or with walking difficulties, to get to the library.

There should be a dropped kerb at the point in question, but Mr Twiss believes that work done to the road by Wainhomes, which is building houses on the nearby nursery site, has not yet been completed.

However, he said: "They could have just put a bit of hardstanding down there to make a temporary ramp, which would solve the problem, but at the moment it is very difficult for people to get to the library.

"I saw a lady with a stick fall there the other day, so it's not just wheelchair users that have problems."

Another of his concerns is that all of the disabled parking spaces in the market place are on the cobbles, so there is no flat surface for disabled or elderly people to step on to from their cars.

During the wheelchair push, Coun Murkett got a taste of how frightening it can be for a wheelchair user if a surface is uneven and the chair tips up.

Going round the corner at Knowles' newsagents into Finkle Street, there is a dropped kerb, which caused the wheelchair to slope into the road and Coun Murkett almost fell out into the oncoming traffic.

"It was not very pleasant at all, and I will remember it for a long time," he said. "On that corner it is dangerous. More thought needs to be given to this, and I will be raising this with the county council."

Coun John Morley, chairman of Hambleton District Council public protection and emergency committee, which has responsibility for car parking, said he would raise the concerns about the market place parking with the committee.

"I shouldn't think we'll ever get rid of the cobbles, but we can look at how to minimise the impact the cobbled areas have on the disabled."

A spokesman for North Yorkshire County Council said that following a call from the D&STimes about the problems of disabled access to the library, a site visit was carried out.

"They could see that there was quite a high kerb there, so they're going to try to put together some sort of temporary ramp, and hopefully that will enable people in wheelchairs to get to and from the library," said the spokesman