My wife and I are visiting from Holland. My wife’s sister, who lives in Bolton, is severely disabled and cannot walk, and when we are here it’s an opportunity to take her out.

Normally this means to the Trafford Centre, but Bury was recommended as having a very good shopping centre, with disabled-friendly parking facilities.

When we arrived in the Mill Gate multistorey carpark all the disabled places were occupied, but there were a number of vacant mother and toddler bays which were big enough to open the car door wide enough for my wife’s disabled sister to get in and out, and for me to get the mobility scooter out of the boot and assemble it.

Having left her disabled badge on the dashboard, we went shopping.

My wife and I returned to the car with an item of shopping. A woman in an SUV who was waiting for a mother and toddler space stepped out of her car and started shouting at us. I explained that we had a disabled lady with us, but she continued shouting loudly that we had no right to park there. She marched off to fetch the attendant, who came and asked us to remove our car.

At that moment a disabled lady called that she was just leaving, and she would wait until we could move round there. We drove to the spot, whilst the SUV lady triumphantly claimed the mother and toddler space.

When asked why she was being so unfriendly, she responded with another bout of shouting.

Of course she was within her rights to have us ejected from the parking spot. We all know how much this system is abused by disabled and able-bodied people alike. But being so aggressive and ill-mannered about it is something else entirely. It’s rather topsy-turvy to have a disabled person’s car removed to make space for a mother and toddler. It will be a lasting memory of Bury.

I would just like to sincerely thank the disabled lady for helping us out of trouble. As for the SUV lady, I only hope that she herself never has the misfortune to need one of those disabled places.

J Callus Eindhoven Netherlands