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A man with Asperger’s Syndrome has been awarded £25,000 in damages after being refused entry to a ride at Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland.
Jonah Specter, 34, is believed to be the first person with a form of autism to successfully win a discrimination payout against an entertainment venue.
When he tried to get on the ferris wheel last year he was told he did not have the right disabled access tickets and ‘didn’t even look disabled.’
The 34-year-old from Hayes, west London, disputed organisers’ claims and said they gave ride operators the tickets they had been sent.
He also suffers from schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder, depression and a rare genetic disorder.
Mr Specter was on a day out with carers as part of a recovery programme after being discharged from a psychiatric hospital.
He told The Times: ‘They were looking at me, giving me weird looks, a head-to-toe scan, saying “there is nothing wrong with him”.
‘That would never happen with someone in a wheelchair.’
After a 50-minute dispute Mr Specter was allowed to ride on the wheel.
He asked for damages and a refund, but when organisers PWR events refused, he decided to take legal action.
