A disabled woman has won £1,000 in compensation from Tesco following a court verdict that the supermarket had discriminated against her by not allowing staff to pump her tyres .
Grandmother Jenni Crowly, from Connah’s Quay, Flintshire, said that she was stunned to find that staff at the superstore’s petrol station in Mold, North Wales refused to check her tyre pressure because they would not be covered by insurance .
Mrs Crowly, 52, who suffers from arthritis and fibromyalgia, which causes muscle pain, sued Tesco under the Disability Discrimination Act .
Tesco defended the action at Mold County Court, saying that the air pump was a free facility, not a service .
The supermarket giant claimed that local staff had offered to hold the hose for Mrs Crowly and that an arrangement with a local tyre shop meant that disabled motorists could check their tyres there.
Tesco said it was a health and safety issue because if staff allowed a motorist to leave the forecourt with wrongly inflated tyre pressures, it could result in a fatality.
But in a judgement delivered on Wednesday, District Judge Viv Reeves ruled that Tesco’s actions were discriminatory and ordered the supermarket to pay compensation to Mrs Crowly.
Crowly stressed the win was not only a victory for her, but also for disabled people. “There are a lot of people worse off than me and they rely on their cars so much, and don’t have anyone to check their tyres,” she said.
“First they said it was insurance, then they said it was health and safety, and then a memo was sent around all store garages telling staff not to put air in people’s tyres .
“They say it is a health and safety issue yet are quite happy for members of the public to do it.”
She added that Asda, had since written to her and said that its staff would be delighted to help her and other disabled people to check their tyres .
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