Club Bans Oxygen Cylinder Woman

By Pat Hurst, PA

A pensioner who needs an oxygen cylinder to breathe has been banned from her local Royal British Legion because she has been declared a fire hazard.

Gillian Western, 66, has been told her life-saving cylinder is too dangerous because she is a smoker and it could explode if flames mix with the oxygen.

Mrs Western, who lives round the corner from the club, is now house-bound after the branch in Heswall, on the Wirral, told her not to come back.

Wheelchair-user Mrs Western, suffers from chronic bronchial asthma and must take the oxygen with her at all times.

She said: "I have been a member for more than 25 years and have been going in there with the cylinder for two years.

"I think they are just being petty.

"They rang my carer and said, 'By the way we don't want Gill coming in with her oxygen cylinder.' They said it was too dangerous.

"It's not very nice considering I was on the committee."

Mrs Western used to be pushed to the club by her carer to meet friends and watch Liverpool football games on TV.

She has tried going to a local pub but said does not enjoy it and the ban has left her virtually house-bound.

"I like it there, it is nice and cosy and all my friends go in there," she added.

Jeff Harrison, county field officer for the Royal British Legion in Cheshire said it was the committee's decision on how they run the club.

He added, "Mrs Western, I understand needs to use oxygen. There is a health and safety difficulty because of smoking. Therefore they have asked her to keep out. It's as simple as that."

The club could not be contacted through telephone calls today.