Tony Hudgell's adoptive mum criticises Southeastern after he was almost left on a train at London's Waterloo station
Published: 21:05, 30 July 2022
Updated: 21:07, 30 July 2022
The adoptive mother of young double-amputee Tony Hudgell has criticised Southeastern after the seven-year-old was almost left on a train.
Paula Hudgell, who lives in Kings Hill, took to twitter to share her frustrations following a visit to London.
She claims they received no assistance at Waterloo station and as the doors of the train started to close, she was forced to jump back on with Tony's wheelchair.
The incident is understood to have happened last week and Mrs Hudgell was also angry at not having received an apology.
Tony, who raised more than £1million during lockdown for the London hospital that saved his life, still requires regular hospital appointments due to the injuries he suffered as a baby.
The youngster was abused so badly by his birth parents that he needed both of his legs amputated.
Mrs Hudgell says the recent incident has left Tony with a fear of being left on a train.
A Southeastern spokesperson said: “Our accessibility team works closely with our accessibility panel to make sure that everyone can travel with confidence on our trains, and we were very sorry to hear about the experience that Tony had recently.
“Front line colleagues have been part of an extensive training programme and they help to complete thousands of successful assisted travel journeys every week. There is an investigation every time the standards we set are not achieved.
“We have been in contact with Tony’s mother Paula about the incident and apologised to her again today. Our Customer Services team will be following up with her as soon as possible.”
Tony suffered life changing injuries when he was just 41 days old.
His birth parents were both sentenced to 10 years behind bars - the maximum sentence at the time.
It led to Mrs Hudgell launching a campaign to have sentences for child cruelty increased.
Earlier this year, Tony's Law was brought into force meaning child abuser could face life in prison if they cause or allow the death of a child, rising from 14 years under the old law.
Those who cause or allow harm to children will have their maximum sentence raised from 10 to 14 years.
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Nicola Everett