David Blunkett is hurt in Tube station accident after 77-year-old fell into platform gap while boarding a train – as blind former Home Secretary brands some platforms ‘death traps’_Nhy
David Blunkett has called for safety improvements at London Underground stations after falling into a platform gap while boarding a train.
The blind former Home Secretary, 77, needed hospital treatment for ‘excruciating pain’ in his legs and branded some platforms ‘death traps’.
Writing in The Sun on Sunday, the Labour peer said he was getting on a District Line train with his guide dog at Westminster Tube last month when his feet slipped.
He said: ‘As I took a step to get on the train, I felt my feet disappearing down the gap.
‘In an instant my body had been propelled forward into the carriage and I was face- down on the floor. My legs had somehow been scraped out of the gap and into the carriage.’
‘I didn’t fully know what had happened. I felt enormous pain in both my legs; they were bruised and grazed,’ he continued.
Passengers rushed to aid the peer, who this summer had a heart attack on holiday in Italy.
The blind former Home Secretary, 77, needed hospital treatment for ‘excruciating pain’ in his legs and branded some platforms ‘death traps’
Writing in The Sun on Sunday, the Labour peer said he was getting on a District Line train with his guide dog (pictured with Barley) at Westminster Tube last month when his feet slipped
Lord Blunkett’s fall came after a recent heart attack that means he must take blood thinners, which make any bruising or bleeding dangerous.
An X-ray confirmed ‘extraordinary bruising’ but no broken leg, and he says he is ‘angry’ about what happened.
‘Whenever you step into a tube station in London you hear the tannoy warn people to “mind the gap”. But too often there are no staff members to actually help you if, like me, you cannot see.’
He is calling for TfL to make efforts to fill the widest gaps on platforms and make sure there is always someone there to help, especially during rush hour.
‘Some of our platforms are death traps. The gap between the walkway and train is huge and they are unsafe for everyone, but particularly for blind people.’
He will soon meet TfL to ask for answers and an urgent review into the safety of the busiest tube stations.
Nick Dent, London Underground’s director of customer operations, said: ‘We were extremely sorry that Lord Blunkett was injured on our network.
‘We have written to, and will be meeting with, him to discuss how we could have managed the incident better and to ensure that lessons are learned.
‘The safety of our customers and staff is at the forefront of everything we do, and while injuries like the one experienced by Lord Blunkett are rare, we are undertaking a huge range of work aimed at eradicating such incidents and making travelling even safer for everyone.’
