Paralympic athlete Claire Harvey describes moment she was forced to drag herself across plane after being left by airline staff

"If I was someone who was nervous or was travelling for the first time on my own as a disabled person it would have been a horrendous experience," said the Team GB athlete

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Paralympic athlete Claire Harvey says she was forced to drag herself across the floor of a plane after being left on board by staff.

The Team GB athlete had been returning from the IPC World Athletics Championships in Doha, where she had been competing in the discus and javelin events, when she was forced to use the chairs like “monkey bars” to crawl along the length of the plane towards the exit.

Speaking on Radio 4’s You and Yours, Harvey, who had been flying with Quatar Airways, said she was left on the plane for 15 minutes after the other passengers left, before a steward told her to get off.

When she pointed out the lack of an aisle wheelchair, the male member of staff started to “manhandle” her.

“[He] said I had to get to the front of the plane, bearing in mind I was 49 rows back,” she said.

“I was dragging myself to the front of the plane with him behind me pushing me to go faster.”

Harvey, who lost the use of her legs after a spinal cord injury, added that when she finally got off the plane she found her wheelchair’s frame was bent and the brakes were damaged, rendering it useless.

“I'm very independent and I'm used to travelling,” she said.

“If I was someone who was nervous or was travelling for the first time on my own as a disabled person it would have been a horrendous experience.”

The airline said cabin crew were “properly trained” to provide assistance to passengers with disabilities and would respond in time once an investigation had been carried out.