A MOBILITY scooter user says he is “abused and threatened” by drivers when on the road because many people don’t appear to understand the law.

Paul Brown has been using a roadworthy mobility scooter for six years and said he gets confronted by drivers when visiting the city or near his home at least once during every trip.

The 66-year-old has diabetes and due to diabetic neuropathy can no longer feel his feet and has lost some toes – meaning he can only walk short distances with the help of a mobility frame.

He said: “Every time I go out on the scooter I’m constantly being shouted at, abused and threatened. People need to be educated – they seem to think that I’m not allowed on the roads.

“I’m sick and tired and it’s down to poor education – some people assume you’re not allowed onto the road and they think it’s alright to shout.”

He said: “I get cars beeping their horns at me and drivers having a go out of the window – some people pull so close to me I can see the time on their watch while they’re shouting: ‘Get off the effing road!’”

Mr Brown’s scooter can reach speeds of 8mph, as opposed to standard scooters, which only reach 4mph and so must remain on the pavement.

By law, he can drive it on main roads but not bypasses or motorways, though he can cross a bypass junction if it means gaining access from one main road to the next.

The government’s mobility scheme provides an affordable way for people with disabilities to lease a car, scooter or powered wheelchair in exchange for their mobility allowance.

Mr Brown said he was given the option of a regular scooter or a road-legal one – opting for the latter, which has all the correct insurance, but is not required by law to carry license plates.

Over the last two years, he estimates he has clocked up 2,400 miles – largely on visits to the shops and other necessary trips.

“My scooter is my lifeline, without it, I’m stuck in the house,” said the pensioner, who has also had two heart attacks and two strokes and suffers from high cholesterol.

“You name it, I’ve probably had it,” he said. “My ability to move around is limited – there’s a shop about 200 yards from my house but I couldn’t manage that without the scooter.”

He said, as well as his trips to Worcester, he goes from South Littleton, where he lives, to Evesham generally twice a week – receiving similar abuse whenever on the scooter.

He said those who generally cause him hassle are men between around 20 and 50 but that women and people of all ages have acted aggressively towards him, including hand gestures.

“I stick as close to the kerb as possible, unless I’m navigating a roundabout,” he said, estimating he can travel five miles in around 40 minutes.

“I have headlights – everything a car's got except a roof. But I rarely drive at night – when I have been out in the dark, the abuse was unbelievable.

He said: “I never feel unsafe with lorries and cars driving past me – I allow them to overtake if it’s causing a hold up.

“There are amazing amounts of courteous drivers, I’m just sick of the bad language and abuse – I’ve been called everything under the sun.”

Mr Brown, who lives with his husband Richard, who has also witnessed the abuse, said people will often follow him into supermarkets and tell him to get number plates put on his scooter.

He said he also gets occasional abuse on the street, or when going around the shops, with people telling him – “you shouldn’t be allowed in here with that ugly thing.”

He added: “The police tell me not to say anything.”

He is now considering fitting a camera to his scooter as he said police have told him if he can prove instances of abuse then they can look to take action.

“Today I had three separate instances of abuse and decided enough was enough,” he continued. “At the moment they’re getting away with it. Sometimes they come so close in their cars that the bike shakes.

“I tell them – why don’t you come a bit closer? I do swear back at them but it’s to no avail.”