A disabled man whose mobility scooter broke down in Huddersfield town centre was left thinking he would be stranded overnight after taxi firms refused to take him home.

Cleveroy Ritchie’s scooter stopped working in Queensgate – and even though he lived just a stone’s throw away in Prospect Street, every taxi firm he phoned said they could not take him.

He said he was sat calling out for help in the rain – but even people who stopped to try and help him could do nothing.

Eventually he had to flag down a police car, and officers were able to find a taxi company to get him home.

Cleveroy Ritchie, of Prospect Street, concerned over fate of disabled mobility scooter users in an emergency.

Cleveroy said: “It was Saturday evening and it was dark. I called out for help and there was no help there.

“I rang all the taxi companies I could find but they all said they couldn’t help me. Some of them even seemed to have an attitude. They said they don’t do mobility scooters, but most of them have minibuses for disabled people.

“Plenty of people wanted to help me. Some students stopped and tried but they were getting the same response. They couldn’t do anything.

“I couldn’t get off the wheelchair and push it. I wouldn’t be able to do it anyway.

“I was stuck outside for two hours getting cold and I was starting to worry whether I would get home or not.

“I was feeling worried because I couldn’t leave my scooter and I thought: ‘Am I going to be sat here all night?’”

Cleveroy said he eventually flagged down a police car, and the officers managed to arrange for a taxi to get him home.

He said: “GT Taxis were the only ones who came for me.

“Most of the other firms said you have to book in advance but you can’t do that if something is wrong with your scooter.

“If I have struggled like this, other people must have too.”

Qusar Ahmed, from GT Taxis, said the firm was well used by people with mobility scooters and was happy to transport anyone in the same situation in the future.