A man who suffers with Motor Neurone Disease claims he was refused entry onto a Merseyrail train for "being drunk".
The wife of the man, who did not want to be named, said the couple had visited the city centre to watch a show at the Royal Court with her sister and her husband on March 25. The group were due to get a train home at around 5pm at Liverpool Central station, but claims her husband was stopped at the barriers.
She said a Merseyrail staff member then accused him of being intoxicated.
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Speaking to the ECHO, the woman said: "My husband has Motor Neurone Disease and was diagnosed four years ago, so he walks a little bit unsteadily. But he is doing really well because most people would be in a wheelchair at this stage, so he is keeping his independence.
"On Saturday afternoon we had tickets to go to the Royal Court to see a show with my sister and her husband. We had a lovely afternoon. So we got the train into town and we bought return tickets, which was fine.
"But coming back at Central station, my sister and I were walking through the barriers and we turned around to see where our husbands were and they were at the other side because the ticket collector had stopped them."
This is when the woman claims her husband was told he wasn't allowed through because he had had too much alcohol and was drunk.
She added: "We explained about his condition and he was shaking his head saying 'no he's not coming through'".
The woman claims it was at this point five security officers approached the group and tried to escort her husband. She said they tried to show the security officers his disabled travel pass and wristband stating he was an MND sufferer.
She added: "They weren't interested they just wanted him out the station. Two of them were sort of pushing him towards the door and we asked them to stop touching him because it hurts his arms and they did stop.
"There was only one security officer who wasn't very nice to us, the other two were nice but were trying to get us out of the station. In the end we stood there for about 10 minutes disputing it with them."
In a video shared with the ECHO by the woman, she can be seen filming a Merseyrail staff member and heard saying they were "excluding someone because of their disability". The staff member can be heard replying and said: "I am not excluding someone because of his disability but because he has too much to drink and is unsteady on his feet."
The woman can be heard arguing back and said: "He has not had too much to drink, he has had two pints and has got a disability and you're saying no."
In one clip, the woman can be seen filming a security officer and asking "do you want to carry on with what you are saying" in which he replies "no" and he appears to hit the woman's phone.
She told the ECHO: "We were on the train at two o'clock and then on the return train at five, so we weren't even in town long enough to get drunk and we watched a show in that time.
"It was really embarrassing because there were loads of people toing and froing and watching what was going on. I could see my husband was really upset and I was at this stage because they just wouldn't listen to us."
After the woman's son confirmed to the security guard what the group had told them, they were allowed to board a train and were escorted to the lifts.
She said: "Eventually my son phoned because one of his friends had seen us and contacted my son, so he phoned us to see what was going on. He spoke to one of the security officers and confirmed what we were saying was correct.
"I think then they realised they had made a mistake, otherwise if they still thought he was too drunk to travel they wouldn't let us through.
"Then they escorted us to the lifts and that was it basically."
The woman said the incident has had a lasting impact on her husband and she believes this should have been dealt with more discreetly.
She said: "I can see my husband's confidence has been really knocked by it. He keeps talking about it and says he doesn't want to travel by train again. It's sort of put him off going out a little bit. It was just a horrible experience.
"I understand passenger safety is important and they're not going to let drunk people through, but they shouldn't automatically assume either. He showed them evidence so they should have accepted that."
A spokesperson for Merseyrail said: "Merseyrail station staff are trained in our clear TravelSafe policy, which ensures the safety of passengers travelling on our network as well as our staff.
"Our staff are also trained to identify hidden disabilities as part of this. Staff use this training and their judgement based on what they can see and hear in the moment to make a decision. This is often a very difficult decision to make.
"In this case we are satisfied that once the full facts were established, the passengers were allowed to travel.
"We are committed to the best care possible for our passengers and apologise for any upset that may have been caused."
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