MORE than 250,000 severely disabled people and their carers across the country will soon benefit from upgraded facilities at service stations thanks to the dedicated and tireless campaigning of an Accrington man.

The Department for Transport, with Muscular Dystrophy UK, is giving £319,000 to service stations operators to build 10 well-equipped Changing Places toilet facilities for travellers with complex accessibility needs.

The Changing Places campaign was launched by Zack Kerr in 2017 and has so far secured millions of pounds for the creation of dedicated restrooms in service stations across England.

Mr Kerr, who has cerebral palsy, said: “This is nothing short of life-changing for a quarter of a million people like me in the UK.

“With these new Changing Places facilities on our motorway network, we will have far more choice of places we can travel to without having to worry about needing the toilet and having to go back home.”

Ceri Davies, Zack Kerr’s stepdad, who has supported him throughout the campaign, added that the security Changing Places gives to families is life changing.

He said: “The provision of Changing Places enables and encourages families, friends and carers to go out and about on day trips and holidays without the uncertainty and worry of discovering there are no accessible toilet facilities available.

“Everyone, regardless of age or ability, should be confident of the provision of appropriate, hygienic and accessible toilet facilities which they can use safely and with dignity.”

Changing Places toilets are larger than standard disabled toilets, and have equipment such as hoists, curtains, adult-sized changing benches and space for carers.

There are more than 1,400 Changing Places toilets in the UK, up from just 140 in 2007, but the government is investing more in these facilities to support the more than quarter of a million people who need them across the UK.

The new locations across the North West are; Birch Eastbound, Birch Westbound, Burton, Knutsford Southbound, Lancaster Northbound, Lancaster Southbound, Lymm, Southwaite Southbound, Todhills Northbound, Todhills Southbound.

Transport accessibility minister Chris Heaton-Harris added: “It is hard to overstate the importance of something as simple as an accessible area for the over 250,000 people nationwide who have a severe disability."