A paralympian and face of a Lloyds Bank TV ad campaign staged her own ‘dirty protest’ on a petrol station forecourt after being refused access to a toilet.
Paralympic showjumper Susi Rogers-Hartley, 49, visited a Shell Garage at 3am to fill up with diesel before riding at an event at Blenheim Palace, Oxon.
The main petrol station was shut so customers were expected to pay through a window.
But Ms Rogers-Hartley could not reach the hatch as she is paralysed from the waist down and uses a wheelchair.
After an argument the ‘snotty’ shopkeeper eventually opened the door to allow her to pay for the fuel.
But when she asked if she could use the toilet she was told ‘no’ – so frustrated Ms Rogers-Hartley was forced to ‘spend a penny’ on the forecourt.
And the sportswoman chose a spot right in front of a CCTV camera – as she was so furious and wanted to make a point.
Ms Rogers-Hartley says: “I couldn’t get my wheelchair up the ramp and she got a bit snotty about it but eventually she opened up the shop.
“I was desperate for the loo and asked if I could use their toilets now that I was in the store but she said ‘no’.
“I thought she would make a compromise with me because she would have still had my bank card while I used the loo.
“It’s a bit ridiculous really. She got snotty because I have to sign for my credit cards because I can’t give my pin number out.
“Well I was absolutely desperate so I told her I was going to go outside, she said ‘you wouldn’t, there’s CCTV cameras’ so I said I would, and I did and I made sure I did it right in front of the cameras.”
Ms Rogers-Hartley added that she did not regret the incident on September 17 at all and would not change anything about how it unfolded.
She said: “At the time I was absolutely fuming but I’ve been telling all my friends and they think it’s absolutely priceless so looking back it’s quite funny.
“One of my friends said only you could get in the news by peeing in a petrol station forecourt.
“It’s just one of those things when you’re out in the wheelchair, don’t let me get started on the trains.”
Shell has issued a public apology to Ms Rogers-Hartley and are planning to send her some free fuel vouchers.
A spokeswoman confirmed the petrol station in Wisbech, Cambs, has a late evening closed door policy for the safety of its staff.
She added: “We are very sorry for the distress this incident caused Ms Rogers-Hartley.
“We are investigating this incident and will look carefully at whether improvements can be made to our procedures.”
Ms Rogers-Hartley said she is yet to return to the petrol station forecourt.
The grade 1 paralympic showjumper appears in the Lloyds Bank 250th anniversary advert, charting the use of horses during that time.
Ms Rogers-Hartley features in the final scenes mounting a horse from her wheelchair and galloping off into the distance.
