Badminton Horse Trials first in the country to have a Changing Places toilet

April 2007

The Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials, 3 - 6 May 2007, are set to be the first in the country to have a fully accessible toilet for the duration of the event. Andy Loos, the UK's leading toilet specialists, will provide the especially equipped mobile unit for use by those with severe disabilities and their carers, for the four days in May.

Andy Loos has been supporting the national Changing Places campaign since its launch last July by a consortium including charities Mencap and PAMIS. A Changing Places toilet is a room equipped to allow people to use the toilet with assistance or have their continence pads changed. This room should include a toilet with space for a carer either side, an adult-sized height adjustable changing bench and a hoist. Without such toilets people's health is put at risk as they often have to be changed on dirty toilet floors.

Organisers of the horse trials have been working hard to make their event as inclusive as possible over the past number of years. Hugh Thomas explained further: "Badminton has always made provision for the less abled enthusiasts and is very happy to provide an added facility this year."

Andy Loos' Managing Director, Robert Culley said: "We are very pleased to be able to offer this facility to the public. It ensures that Badminton is open to everyone. With the launch of this unit it will open up a whole new world of out door events for the severely disabled and their carers. Any feed back concerning our unit would be greatly appreciated for its ongoing development."

Don’t forget to keep your eye on the map as we update it regularly. If you spot a Changing Places toilet which is not on the map please let us know by visiting our map pages: http://www.changing-places.org/where_tellus.asp