'Disgusting!' Woman's fury over Simply Red toilets and access
Sarah Fry-Self and Husband Mark Self were left disappointed when they felt excluded from the Simply Red concert at Earlham Park on Saturday. - Credit: Sarah Fry-Self
A disabled woman has slammed organisers of last week's Simply Red concert after toilets overflowed and she struggled to even see her heroes on stage.
Simply Red superfan Sarah Fry-Self, 50, was overjoyed when her favourite band announced they would be playing in Norwich.
Sarah suffers from full spinal fusion, Ankylsoing Spondylitis and it also waiting on a partial knee replacement. She requested a disabled seat after discovering chairs would not be permitted in the main area.
Sarah spent the following day in agony due to all of the extra walking she had to do, she has full spinal fusion which means she has no natural shock absorbers. - Credit: Sarah Fry-Self
She said: “Due to the fact that chairs were not permitted into the concert I had to request to go into the disabled area.
“With this we requested disabled parking, when we arrived, we realised the disabled parking was at the UEA which meant we had to walk across an uneven field in order to get there.”
Sarah Fry-Self was less than impressed with the view that disabled people had been given. - Credit: Sarah Fry-Self
When Sarah and her husband got to the disabled area of the grounds they were sent back to the entrance because they were not given any wristbands.
They later found out that tokens for food and drink were available at the entrance so they would have to trudge back to the main gate if they wanted to buy anything.
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Sarah added: “The screen on the right side of the stage where the disabled people sat also did not work so people in wheelchairs were not able to see.”
The toilets that were in the disabled area of the concert were overflowing and Sarah was unable to use them. - Credit: Sarah Fry-Self
And Sarah's night went from bad to worse when she needed the toilet.
“The toilets were absolutely disgusting the one is our area was overflowing," she said.
Finally Sarah and her husband Mark decided to quit the gig when a drunk woman tried to climb over the barrier to use the disabled toilet in a bid to find one that wasn't in a state.
Sarah has said that the toilets were not very hygienic and had rubbish and toilet rolls just piled up. - Credit: Sarah Fry-Self
Sarah said: “After this happened, we left because we no longer felt safe in the crowd.”
The couple are now calling for an overhaul of concerts at Earlham Park.
She said: “I want them to make it more inclusive - they need to add raised bits for disabled people to sit so everyone can see.
Due to full spinal fusion Sarah finds it difficult to walk on uneven surfaces, the disabled parking was a full field away from the concert grounds. - Credit: Sarah Fry-Self
“They need to address the toilet and rubbish in the area, have better disabled parking and generally make it feel more accessible.
“I went to enjoy myself and ended up having to leave early and spent the following day in agony because of all the walking and uneven ground.”
Event organisers Liz Hobbs Group did not comment.
