内容摘要：(GMP) at Manchester Victoria on 23 November last year and allegedly "forced" back on to the trains they arrived on.

(GMP) at Manchester Victoria on 23 November last year and allegedly "forced" back on to the trains they arrived on.

Lucy Earle, 31, is a social media executive for a museum.She has various disabilities and conditions, including agonising pain in her feet that means she needs to use a wheelchair.

It took six months for her claim to be looked at by Access to Work, and then she was assigned a wheelchair that wasn't suitable and left her upper body in pain."The last few weeks, I haven't been into work because I can't manage the pain of either using the wheelchair that isn't built for me, or being on my feet and not going very far."She credits the Access to Work scheme with helping her stay in employment, but feels they are refusing reasonable requests.

"They're saying that the benefits are being cut so we can push more people into work, but then also Access to Work is having all these problems."Steve Darling MP, the Lib Dem Work and Pensions spokesperson, says that while the principles behind Access to Work are excellent, "individuals and businesses are often covering significant sums from their own savings while waiting for payments from Access to Work, which risks pushing people into debt, or businesses even closing down. This is unacceptable."

Minister for Social Security and Disability, Sir Stephen Timms, said in February that Access to Work, established in 1994, "was not in a good shape at the moment."

Spending on the programme increased by 41% in 2023/24 to £257.8m."Their work goes unnoticed by many but they do such a great job and if I can come away with a world record at the end, then happy days, but the main thing is to raise as much money as I can for Prospect," he said.

Mr Barkham added with the clock running continually throughout he would have to limit his food and drink intake."The main thing is not to try to drink much. I'm not going to drink any alcohol, probably until about 10pm when I know I'm close. Hopefully I can celebrate with a beer at the end."

He said he would continue throwing if he exceeded the 160,000 target, to try to "get as many points as possible".Plans to help critically endangered bats in a nature reserve have moved a step forward.