Tony Hudgell
(Picture: PA Media)The adoptive parents of a boy who lost both his legs being tortured by his birth parents have slammed an airline for leaving him stranded for five hours at Gatwick Airport without his wheelchair.
Tony Hudgell, 8, had been returning from a dream trip to Lapland, when his £6,500 specialised wheelchair failed to make it off the flight.
His new mother Paula Hudgell said she was appalled, posting a picture of Tony waiting sitting on the baggage claim conveyer belt with no mode of transport.
She claimed the family waited for five hours before his specialised wheelchair emerged “twisted and bent.”
Appalled with @jet2tweets @Gatwick_Airport have been stranded for 3 hrs now with no wheelchair as its still on the plane.
— Tony Hudgell BCyA BEAR (@paula_hudgell) December 12, 2022
3am no help
Double amputee no legs as his wheelchair is his legs.
Trying to get help or assistance and nothing 🤬#gatwickairport #disabled #wheelchair pic.twitter.com/JniDwmoMOT
His furious mum posted online: “Appalled with Jet2 and Gatwick Airport have been stranded for 3 hrs now with no wheelchair as its still on the plane. 3am no help. Double amputee no legs as his wheelchair is his legs. Trying to get help or assistance and nothing.
“The luggage hadn’t come off either. 5 hours later wheelchair appears on conveyor belt bent and chipped. It was supposed to be there to get him off the plane but No it wasnt.”
After several hours Jet2 sent Tony an apology, writing online: “I am incredibly sorry to hear of your experience, we are currently trying to contact our team at LGW and we will look into fixing this for you.”
His mum hit back: “Sorted now but 5 hours too late as far as a wheelchair user needs ignored. Assistance was booked in advance. Should have been sorted and when it did come out it was put on the conveyor belt and got twisted and bent. Full complaint on its way. Wheelchair cost us £6,500 so cross.”
“All we want is his wheelchair they can keep the luggage. Totally stuck bet CEO couldn’t manage without their legs it’s disgraceful.”
A Gatwick Airport spokesperson said: “We are aware of this awful situation and apologise for the distress caused to the Hudgell family. This is unacceptable and we have picked it up as a matter of urgency with the airline, Jet2, and their ground handler, Menzies. We experienced significant disruption last night and had to close the airport for a two-hour period for safety reasons.”
A Jet2 spokesperson confirmed that heavy snow had closed Gatwick airport causing the severe delays.
They said: “We would like to sincerely apologise to Mr Hudgell and his family for the delay on receiving his wheelchair and for any inconvenience caused as a result.
“We can confirm that the delay was due to Gatwick Airport being temporarily closed due to snow, which meant that the baggage handler experienced severe delays offloading luggage. Unfortunately, this included Mr Hudgell’s wheelchair.
“We recognise that this should not be the experience that our customers receive when travelling with us and can confirm that we have been in touch with Ms Hudgell to offer both our sincere apologies and to do everything we can to rectify this situation.”
Brave Tony was so badly abused at the hands of his parents Jody Simpson and Anthony Smith that he needed to have both legs amputated.
Bu in August Justice Secretary Dominic Raab referred her case to the Parole Board – the first time he has used a new power introduced through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 to intervene in a high-profile case.
The sentencing changes are known as “Tony’s Law”, following campaigning by the youngster’s adoptive family.
