Disabled woman wins Tesco tyre pump case

A disabled woman has won £1,000 from Tesco after a court said it had discriminated against her by not allowing staff to pump up her tyres.

Grandmother Jenni Crowly, from Connah's Quay, Flintshire, said the win was not only a victory for her, but also for disabled people. Tesco staff said they could not help Mrs Crowly for insurance reasons. But District Judge Viv Reeves, at Mold County Court, disagreed and ordered the award to be paid in 21 days. Mrs Crowly said: "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. "First they [Tesco] 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." Mrs Crowly, 52, started the court action after she went to the superstore petrol station in Mold, and staff refused to check her tyres after claiming they would not be covered by insurance. Mrs Crowly told the court she could not bend down and maintain the pressure on the nozzle without suffering great pain.

She used to visit Tesco in Broughton, where staff would help her with her tyres, she said. Mrs Crowly sued Tesco under The Disability Discrimination Act, claiming the company's procedures make it impossible for her to use the free air service on the garage forecourt. Tesco defended the action, saying it was a free facility not a service. The supermarket chain said staff had offered to hold the hose and they had an arrangement with a local tyre shop so that disabled motorists could check their tyre pressures there.

Extra staff

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 cause a fatality. But in a judgement delivered on Wednesday, Judge Reeves said Tesco had discriminated against Mrs Crowly. She said: "I'm really delighted with the outcome. It should never have had to come to court. " Toby Starr, for Tesco, had argued that if the company inflated tyres then it would have to employ extra trained staff, and that would substantially alter its business. A Tesco spokesman said: "We're disappointed with the decision and will consider our options."