A DISABLED woman who has fought cancer was shocked when she was issued with a parking ticket for her mobility scooter.

Ellie Bennett parked her scooter outside Basingstoke Railway Station, after speaking to the assisted travel team at South West Trains who advised her to leave her vehicle outside the train station rather than trying to take it on the train.

The 54-year-old, from Eastrop, Basingstoke was travelling from Basingstoke to Reading for a dentist appointment on Monday, April 4 and was due to be picked up by her husband Stephen on her return.

She uses the scooter because of a broken hip, and is also recovering from liver and colon cancer.

Mr Bennett, 61, was unable to take his wife to the appointment because he was having radiotherapy treatment in Guildford for cancer of the oesophagus.

He told The Gazette: “My wife phoned the railway about assisted travel and she asked where she could park her scooter. They said it would be too much trouble to put a scooter on the train and it would be easier to get a taxi to the dentist from Reading so they said she could park it outside and that’s what we did. It was by the bikes and it was nowhere near any entrance.”

He added: “We came back and the scooter had a ticket on it. It was absolutely out of the way, it’s a jobsworth who has done this.”

The ticket, which was a parking notice, warned that if the scooter was left there again it would be towed away.

Mr Bennett said: “It’s a disability scooter and it wasn’t in anyone’s way and we had asked about it. It’s ridiculous. We were a bit shocked and didn’t know what to think. We are two people who are disabled and we have worked all our lives. I find it a little bit naughty. If I worked at the railway station and found a disability scooter I would think that someone had no choice but to park it there. I don’t want to complain, it’s not worth it. What I want to do is make a point and make a mockery of them. There’s no excuse for this, it’s a jobsworth.”

A spokeswoman for South West Trains said: "We have spoken to Mr and Mrs Bennett to apologise for any distress caused. Despite the disappointment faced by Mrs Bennett on the day, we were pleased to hear that the couple were happy with the help she received from assisted travel staff during her journey.

"We have re-briefed our staff about the processes for assisted travel at the station."