A MUM will sit on a loo in front of the public all day today to support disabled people.
Sarah Brisdion, 38, from Brockenhurst, wants to raise awareness of the “dire” conditions that her son and thousands of other disabled people face when using the toilet away from home.
As reported Sarah’s son, Hadley, age seven, has cerebral palsy and is a full time wheelchair user.
The family hit the headlines in December last year when the mum and businesswoman started a festive campaign with a difference, posting Christmas-themed selfies of herself on the toilet every day in the run up to December 25
It’s a bid to get shops and companies to install bigger loos so that people with disabilities have space to change – and so they don’t have to lie on the floor.
She said: “When Hadley is going out, he is regularly faced with the undignified and unsanitary situation of lying on urine-soaked toilet floors, because standard accessible loos do not meet his needs. Hadley cannot stand unaided and needs to lie down to have underwear and trousers removed and be lifted onto a toilet.
“Without facilities, known as Changing Places toilets (with an adult-sized changing bench and hoist) he has no choice but to lie on the loo floor or relieve himself in a nappy and sit in his own bodily waste. It’s heartbreaking for me as his mother and so distressing and dangerous for him.”
Sarah will be joined in the Baker Street, London, window, by actress Samantha Renke.
Sarah added: “Toilets are not glamorous. We shy away from talking about pee, poo and periods. There are currently only 1093 Changing Places toilets in the whole of the UK which sounds a lot but Wembley Stadium alone has 2,618 toilets.
“Fortunately in Southampton the number of Changing Places is growing, making our city more accessible than most. But there is still a way to go.”
Coxford ward councillor Keith Morrell said the campaign “should be applauded”.
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