Reporter James Drury thought it might be fun giving a mobility scooter a test run.

He got behind the handlebars to see how disabled people fare when they go shopping around Tunbridge Wells.

His task was to join “riders” en route between Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge – raising cash for Shopmobility at the same time.

But the experience, reported in the Kent and Sussex Courier series, gave him a new perspective on his own mobility, and drew his readers’ attention to the problems disabled people could face.

He confessed: “I had always wanted to try out one of the nifty little numbers I occasionally saw people getting about on from shop to shop and thought, in my lazier moments, it would be a great way of getting around with the minimum of effort.

“So when Cicilia Bannister of Shopmobility contacted me, I couldn’t resist signing up –
I mean what was a bit of fund-raising in exchange for a morning of fun?”

His first challenge was (a day early – to prepare, you understand) getting used to the system of levers instead of pedals and brakes.

Then James, who is East Sussex chief reporter, was ready for the 9am “chariot” ride on the uneven pavements that track the A26.

He wrote in The Courier: “Kerbs proved more of a difficulty on three wheels rather than two legs and there was no quick leap back to safety if a car was coming.

“It hammered home the difficulties faced by people in wheelchairs, having to cope with the uneven pavements and the way people do not seem to notice you at sitting height until you are almost upon them.

“Half-way back my backside was getting a bit fed up of bouncing over the bumpy pavements and I wished I has brought a cushion – I was not envious of people that have to make long journeys regularly.”

And the good news? The team raised more than £250 through collections and sponsorship for the Shopmobility fund, which provides help for people who can’t get out to shop.

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