Cabbies offer disabled people trip to wildlife park (From Swindon Advertiser)

Cabbies offer disabled people trip to wildlife park

6:00pm Thursday 19th July 2012 in News

CAB drivers gave up their time to take more than 40 people with disabilities on an outing to Cotswold Wildlife Park.

Private hire drivers from Cross Street Radio Cars treated nearly all the residents of Lifeways Community Care to a day trip yesterday.

It is the third year that the outing has taken place.

The good deed was originally set up by cabbie Mark Bicknell, who was inspired after his colleagues did the same for his mentally and physically disabled sister, Emma, when she was young.

The group set off at 9.30am from Lifeway’s offices, in the Pembroke Centre, Cheney Manor Industrial Estate.

Cross Street owner Sat Nijjar said: “We are giving up our time for free to take the residents out for the day.

“At the time of year when everyone goes on their holidays we didn’t want these people sat in the same old surroundings that they have been in day in, day out.

“We wanted to put something back into the community and this is one of the best ways we could do it.

“We went to Weston-super-Mare last year but the drive was a little bit too long for some of the residents, so this time round we have chosen somewhere a bit closer to home.”Lifeways supports people with learning disabilities, multiple health needs, acquired brain injuries, autistic spectrum disorders, physical disabilities and sensory and communication impairments.

It provides a range of person-centred services at home in the community. A spokeswoman said: “Lifeways Community Care is committed to delivering the highest degree of support within communities.

“We believe strongly in the rights of the individuals for whom we provide a person-centred service.

“In fact it is the people that we support who make our service what it is today.”

For more information visit the website www.lifeways.co.uk.