WHEELCHAIR users say they are upset they can no longer access a common where they take their dogs on after a new gate was installed.

Two disabled pensioners say 'everyone has access to the common except them.'

The gate was put in after a herd of cows escaped and caused havoc across the area, recently.

Alan and Shirley Britton, who live in Chipping Sodbury, say they have walked their dogs on the common near their home for over forty years, entering through St John's Way.

The new entrance now has a wider gate with a smaller passage that pedestrians can open and step over into the common.

But the new gate is not wide enough and has a substantial 'step' which means wheelchair users are unable to go through it.

A number has been made available to call for access through the wider gate, but Mr and Mrs Britton also feel that this is an insufficient measure. They also say when they call they are given a padlock code but it is for a lock they can't reach on the other side of the gate.

Mr and Mrs Britton say that their rights have been infringed and that they are being discriminated against for being disabled.

"We have walked our dogs on this common for 40 years but now we are unable to- we can no longer access it and no one seems to cares.

"All we want to do is go and walk our dogs."

They claim they have been told that they can access the common from an entrance in Old Sodbury, but say that's not a suitable alternative due to the battery power on their mobility scooters.

Farmers changed the gate that leads onto Old Sodbury common after a herd of cows escaped from the land two weeks ago and caused chaos in the area. Farmers suggested that someone had left the original gate open. 

A number of cows were still missing days later.

The common warden advised that the new gate met guidelines set by the National Highways agency and said people with wheelchairs could access the common from Trinity Lane in Chipping Sodbury or Old Sodbury.