Alton Mobility Services supplies beach accessible wheelchairs to Norfolk beach
West Midlands mobility retailer Alton Mobility Services has supplied wheelchairs to a beach near Great Yarmouth that enables disabled people and people with limited mobility to access the beach easily.
The wheelchairs were supplied to Great Yarmouth Borough Council, which has recently opened a wheelchair kiosk at Gorleston Beach.
Thanks to funding from the EXPERIENCE project at Interreg Europe, an inter-regional co-operation programme co-funded by the European Union, the existing shelter in Gorleston has been re-purposed and re-designed to include a self-service kiosk and secure housing for the beach wheelchair.
Users can visit the ClubSpark website to book the wheelchair for the day, completely free of charge, and will receive a code via email for the kiosk’s Digi Lock.
The wheelchairs have large pneumatic wheels which allow them to slide over the sand, allowing people with limited mobility to easily access to the beach without fear of damaging their own wheelchairs or getting stuck in the sand.
The beach wheelchairs require users to be able to transfer themselves from their usual wheelchair on to a beach wheelchair, because unfortunately there is not a hoist available. It also needs people to push the wheelchair because it is difficult for chair users to handle the wheels in the usual way.
The chairs are supplied with a chest strap but do not have a head support. The maximum weight of users of the chair is 18 stone. Children should be at least three-feet tall to fit in the chair.
Councillor Carl Smith, leader of Great Yarmouth Borough Council, said: “We have had a beach wheelchair available for hire in Great Yarmouth for many years, which has been hugely popular each summer, so we are excited to extend this free service to Gorleston.
“These beach-friendly wheelchairs allow those with mobility issues to do so along with the rest of their family and friends.”
British campervan hire service Quirky Campers recently welcomed an accessible campervan to its hire fleet, designed for families with a disabled child.
