A mum says she’s “furious” after her son, who is a double amputee, was only able to go on a baby carousel at Chessington World of Adventures.

Eight-year-old Tony Hudgell, from Kings Hill near West Malling, was abused so badly by his birth parents that he needed both of his legs amputated.

He was taken to hospital in 2014 with multiple organ failures, numerous fractures in his legs and sepsis, and was adopted by Paula Hudgell after pulling through.

The 55-year-old tweeted about the amusement park ordeal, saying: “Furious doesn't come close. Total discrimination against disabilities and amputees.”

They had gone there for a birthday party and, on previous visits, Tony had been on rides without any issues.

Paula told BBC Breakfast: “Sadly this time we were informed that because as Tony now is a double amputee, he wasn’t able to access any rides other than the baby carousel.

“And this is due to their new policy about having three fully functioning limbs which obviously Tony is never going to have, which rules him out of every ride in Chessington for the rest of his life.

“We tried to explain that things need to be taken on an individual basis but they said no.

“There’s nothing on the website to state this new policy about having three fully functioning limbs and nothing on any of the rides.

”Tony is very capable of transferring into rides, he's very mobile. He just literally doesn't have the bottom half of his legs.

“There is no way I want I'd want to put Tony in any harm at all, but there are rides that he really should be able to access.”

Mike Vallis, managing director of Chessington, apologised to the pair on air, saying: “Safety is our number one priority and we have to constantly review the safety procedures that we have.

“There are three principles we have to work with – that you can be secure in the ride vehicle at all times, that you are able to brace yourself against the movement of the ride and that we can evacuate you from the ride.

'We need to work better, we do have a lot of information on our website, but clearly it's not clear enough and we need to work on that.”

Alison Kerry, head of communications at disability equality charity Scope said: “Going to a friend’s birthday party seems like something all children should be able to enjoy.

“But so many places like theme parks aren’t built with disabled children in mind, leaving them and their families isolated and excluded.

“It’s 2023, we should be designing accessible rides and equipment as standard so that theme parks are inclusive to all.

“Chessington and other parks need to reflect on this and realise that disabled children and their families deserve to have fun days out too.”

Inspired by her son, Mrs Hudgell launched a campaign to have sentences for child cruelty increased, and last summer, Tony’s Law was brought into force.

It means child abusers could face life in prison if they cause or allow the death of a child.

Those who cause or allow harm to children will have their maximum sentence raised from 10 to 14 years.

In 2020, Tony raised more than £1.5 million for the Evelina Children's Hospital in London after walking 10km on his prosthetic legs.

He received a British Citizen Youth Award for his efforts.