A DISABILITY charity has urged theme park bosses to rethink their policy following Kidderminster Paralympian Claire Cashmore’s rollercoaster ride snub.

Scope has come out in support of the gold and silver Rio 2016 hero after she was refused entry on to Alton Towers’ ‘Smiler’ ride when staff noticed she only had one hand.

The Shuttle reported how Claire, who had been at the Staffordshire theme park celebrating her 29th birthday on May 30, was left stunned by the decision as she had been allowed on their other ‘Big Six’ rides.

Alton Towers cited health and safety restrictions on this particular ride as the reason for Claire being refused on it.

But Richard Lane, Head of Communications at Scope, said: “It would seem that this policy hasn’t been properly thought through.

“Disabled people are too often told what they can and can’t do by other people or organisations.

“Businesses should be looking at ways to attract Britain’s 13 million disabled people – after all they have a combined spending power of £250 billion – rather than turning them away.”

The Smiler ride hit the headlines in 2015 when a tragic accident left 11 people injured, five of which were serious including two who required partial leg amputations.

An Alton Towers spokesman said: “As the health and safety of our guests is always our main priority, we do have restrictions in place which mean some of our rides and attractions are not suitable for everyone.

“In the rare event that it is necessary to evacuate the ride, this may require guests to descend a short distance on a ladder using a harness and safety line.

“Current Health & Safety Executive guidance states that it is essential to maintain three points of contact when using a ladder.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused to Ms Cashmore, however Alton Towers Resort would never put any guest at risk by operating outside of these guidelines.”