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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
William Mata

Actress Sally Phillips 'so upset' after son with Down's syndrome not allowed to play at trampoline park

Actress Sally Phillips has hit out at the burdens on parents of special needs children after her son, who has Down's syndrome, was excluded from a trampoline park.

She and Olly, 19, were told by Oxygen Free Jump in London that they would need a letter from a GP in order to take part.

The business, which has trampoline parks in Acton, Croydon and The O2, has apologised and said it was following guidance from British Gymnastics.

It has not been reported which of the London parks the incident took place in. 

Mother-of-three Phillips, 53, told BBC Breakfast that it requires a letter from a GP for every visit - which puts pressure on NHS resources or costs money for a private appointment.

She said on Friday: "This admin burden on special needs parents to be part of the community - to do a normal thing, to take normal risks that everyone else is allowed to take - is just unbearable."

The actress, who has had roles in Bridget Jones, Veep and Alan Partridge said she had been to the centre with Olly many times before.

"I was so, so upset for Olly to be prevented," she added.

"There were so many things wrong with it... one is that they're weeding out people with visible disabilities, so if you have an invisible disability, you're not required to bring in a doctor's letter.” 

She said that Olly burst into tears after the incident and has said that guidelines followed are out of date. 

The Standard has approached Oxygen Free Jump for a response.

A statement sent to the BBC said: "The only reason a company like ours exists is to help everyone, but particularly children, enjoy active play.

"We would welcome the opportunity to collaborate with the relevant parties to review the current guidance and enable as much active play as we can, safely."

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