A mum says she was left feeling “embarrassed and traumatised” after staff at an animal park asked for proof of her daughter’s disability.

Samantha Bowen was visiting Wingham Wildlife Park, near Canterbury, with her 13-year-old daughter Lucy, who uses a wheelchair, when she was challenged for asking for a free carer’s ticket.

Lucy suffers from a unique disability called unbalanced translocation, and also has epilepsy and life-limiting conditions.

But workers at the hugely popular zoo were insistent that Mrs Bowen, who lives in Faversham, show evidence that they qualified for the discounted entry.

Park bosses say they do not ask for proof of disability, but instead request evidence of visitors’ “carer requirement”.

But Mrs Bowen, who lives in Faversham, said: “I asked for one disabled child ticket and a carer ticket and straight away they asked for proof of disability.

“The woman at that entrance then said to us ‘we are not allowed to judge disabilities on appearance alone, because there is such a thing as invisible disabilities’.

“I almost laughed when she told me this. I am a qualified trainer in disability inclusion, so I know what invisible disabilities are, but my daughter is in a wheelchair, so how can that be the case?

“She continued to ask for proof. How sick would someone have to be to make up having a disabled child? I was so insulted.”

The staff member reportedly told the pair they could pay the full price and later apply for a refund online if they could show proof of Lucy’s disability.

Not wanting to “ruin Lucy’s day”, Mrs Bowen, who is a freelance consultant for special educational needs and disability museums, paid £21 for an adult ticket and £18 for a disabled child ticket.

She told how she was further frustrated after an elderly couple in front of them were given discounted ticket prices without showing proof of age.

“The staff asked the man if he was over 60. He said yes and they gave him the OAP ticket price, without asking for any proof,” she said.

“I don’t expect Lucy to be given gold-star treatment, but I think we should be treated the same as everyone else.”

Mrs Bowen says the trips she and Lucy take are “incredibly important” as they do not know how many they have left, given her daughter’s condition.

Before she left the park, Mrs Bowen says she made a complaint to a duty manager, who repeated the same message as the previous staff member.

“They just relayed the same line as the woman at the entrance. It was like they were reading from a script - there is no care or compassion at all,” she said.

“We bumped into another elderly person in a wheelchair. I questioned if they were asked to show proof of disability and they did not ask them for anything. They seem to let elderly people through with no proof, so why ask us?

“I don’t want anyone else to have to go through this. They must change.”

When she returned home, Mrs Bowen went through the process of claiming a refund online, sharing proof of her daughter’s disability and need for a carer.

“To be fair to them, when I applied for my refund they got back to me within 24 hours,” she said.

“The ticket cost £21 and they refunded me £20. I asked why it was a pound less and to my shock I was informed they gave me a £1 handling charge. It’s ridiculous.

“I am paying for their mistake.”

Wingham Wildlife Park bosses say they do “as much as they possibly can to ensure that [the] park is inclusive”.

Animal curator Markus Wilder said: “The topic of disabled visitors has always been a very sensitive subject, partially because there are so many different things to consider, especially when it comes to invisible disabilities.

“It is very difficult for our staff, especially on a very busy day like last Sunday, to draw a line between, at which point we visually determine when we stop asking for proof of their carer requirement while trying to ensure that we are not putting extra stress or embarrassment on to our visitors.

“Because there are so many factors in play with disabilities, and because visitors may not have checked whether they need to bring anything with them on the day, we have a really easy to use and quick process for people to be able to claim back any carers they have been charged for due to forgotten documentation.

“We have to ensure that anyone who needs a carer is able to enjoy the park as much as anyone who does not need a carer, and that’s why we ask for proof of requiring a carer, and this is what dictates which documents we can accept, because not all documents which prove a disability prove that an essential carer is required.

“We do not ask for help with supporting our disabled visitors, because we truly care about everyone being able to have a positive day out at our park, and this is why we simply ask our visitors to help us make this process as easy as possible because sadly there are people who take advantage of any way to get into the park for free or cheap.

“Our method ensures that we are able to help everyone who needs our help to get that help without causing embarrassment for them or asking our staff, who are not medical professionals, to try to visually determine which disabilities we do and don’t need letters for.

“It really is such a sensitive, complex and personal issue that it really is one of the most difficult topics for us to traverse, even though we hope that it is clear to see that we always have the absolute best intentions with everything we are doing.”

Mr Wilder added that in the last year 10,950 adults acting as carers have been given free entry - the equivalent of £229,950 in ticket fees.

But Mrs Bowen says the reasoning offered by the park is flawed, claiming there was no need to question Lucy’s disability or her obvious need for a carer.

She said: “My daughter is in a wheelchair, so this is not classed as an invisible disability.

“I believe they have taken one rule and applied it across the board.

“They did cause embarrassment and upset to both me and my daughter.”