The mother of a double amputee has begged for change after Tony Hudgell, eight, was left stranded for five hours at Gatwick Airport.
Tony and his family were left "appalled" after the eight-year-old was left stranded at Gatwick Airport without his wheelchair for hours yesterday morning after it got stuck on a plane. They also revealed that when his chair did turn up it was all "twisted and bent".
Gatwick Airport have since issued an apology but Tony's mum is keen for it not to happen to anyone else as she begged for change on Good Morning Britain today as she wants Tony to live as full a life as he can.
Speaking to hosts Richard Madeley and Kate Garraway on the ITV breakfast show today, Tony's mum said: "At first we thought the wheelchair was really damaged but other than a few chips, it's ok - but that's not the point.
"He was left, in theory, without his legs for four and a half hours. I don't see anyone else being able to manage without their legs for four and a half hours ... You want to try and keep life as normal as possible. I want Tony to be as independent as he can be; I want him as an adult to be able to travel the world if he wants to. It was extremely difficult [what happened]."
Mum Paula added: "That's more what it's about - bringing awareness and change."
Tony and his family were returning from a magical trip to Lapland on Monday morning, but his special wheelchair - that cost £6,500 - was nowhere to be seen after disembarking from their Jet2 plane. This was despite Tony's adoptive parents, Paula, 54, and Mark, 57, making sure they pre-booked assistance. Tony looked forlorn as he was sitting on an unused luggage conveyor belt.
At 3am, an angry Paula posted on Twitter : "Appalled with @jet2tweets @gatwick_airport have been stranded for 3 hrs now with no wheelchair as its still on the plane. 3am no help. Double amputee no legs as his wheelchair is his legs.
"Trying to get help or assistance and nothing #gatwickairport #disabled #wheelchair."
In a separate tweet, she posted: "The luggage hadn't come off either. 5 hours later wheelchair appears on conveyor belt bent and chipped. It was supposed to be there to get him off the plane but No it wasn't."
Young Tony is a Pride of Britain award winner and has even been hailed as a hero by Prince William and Kate Middleton. The eight-year-old has raised more than £1.7million for the Evelina London Children’s Hospital, which saved his life.
A Gatwick Airport spokesperson issued an apology and told The Mirror: "We are aware of this awful situation and apologise for the distress caused to the Hudgell family. This is unacceptable and we have picked it up as a matter of urgency with the airline, Jet2, and their ground handler, Menzies. We experienced significant disruption last night and had to close the airport for a two-hour period for safety reasons." Jet2 has also since apologised in a statement which was shared on Good Morning Britain today.
