COMMENT: Incidents show that training has to improve

Surely it would be a straightforward journey to get them there so they could catch their train home to Stevenage.

But they hadn't bargained for a difficult driver who appears to have initially refused to take them and their two black Labrador retrievers, Marty and Sammie - then, when he did eventually allow them to board, demanded 70p per dog on top of their fare.

No wonder the Aqua Cars driver's attitude has dismayed Siobhan and Sean. They had mentioned the assistance dogs on the phone, so it shouldn't have come as a surprise to him.

In any case, such extra charges are illegal under the Equality Act 2010 and taxi drivers have to allow guide and assistance dogs to remain with their owners unless they have a medical exemption certificate.

Siobhan said it made her feel like a 'second-class citizen' and reckons she's had well over 30 similar refusals from taxi drivers in the 17 years since she's had an assistance dog. That is totally unacceptable.

Today we also report on how disabled Mark Waite was denied service at a McDonald’s drive-through in Gosport because he was using a mobility scooter — despite it being valid according to the company’s own policy.

Mark, who suffers from lupus and osteoporosis, was quite entitled to use the drive-through, but staff wouldn't take his order.

Another example of discrimination from employees who don't know their own rules. In both these cases, training clearly needs to be improved.

But in the meantime it would hardly be surprising if McDonald's and Aqua Cars got no more custom from Mark, Siobhan and Sean.