Disabled shopper furious after being 'abandoned' during Leeds shopping centre evacuation

Ben Cropper, aged 28, was shopping with his girlfriend and his carer at The Core on December 18 when an alarm sounded and customers were told to evacuate the building.

Mr Cropper and his girlfriend both have Cerebral Palsy and are wheelchair-bound, so headed towards the accessible exit on The Headrow.

However, the shutters were pulled down and the exit closed due to a suspicious package just outside the building - which later turned out to be an empty laptop bag.

Mr Cropper, a sports writer, said there was no visible member of security by the exit and only a cleaner was available to ask for help, who instructed the couple to enter the NCP car-park by the side of the building.

But on clearing the main doors they encountered two flights of stairs, impossible to get down in their wheelchairs.

Although they were outside The Core building, Mr Cropper said they were still close enough to be in danger of a real fire or bomb scare and were left stranded at the top of the stairs.

He said: "There is no way anyone could have lifted me or put me on their shoulders, I was literally stuck at the top of the stairs.

"No representative from The Core stayed with us or told us when the building had reopened.

"The only reason I knew they were letting people back in is because they were playing music and the fire alarm had stopped."

A spokesperson for The Core said the top of the stairs was a "safe refuge point" and claims the customers would have been collected.

But Mr Cropper said he wants to share his experience to make sure all shopping centres have procedures in place for disabled people during a fire or real terror attack.

He added: "I wouldn't have been able to get clear of the building and there was no ramp to get down the stairs - as that stairwell was owned by NCP not The Core.

"If more places are like that, it could cause a real problem for disabled people."

A spokesperson for The Core shopping centre said: "In every situation, our main objective is to ensure the safety of our customers.

"The two customers were taken to safe refuge point by an appointed fire marshal as per our normal evacuation process.

"The customers were informed of this process and kept in the safe refuge until it was safe for them to be collected.”