Woman locked in Banbury disabled toilet 'could have been there all night'

Sonia Morgan, 44 could not get out of the loo. Her friend, Terry Harris, was parked across the car park and unaware that she was having problems.

"I waited and then went to see what was happening for her to take so long, only to see that the alarm light was flashing and she was screaming and shouting for help," he said.

"I could hear her screaming as I approached. She was trying to get the attention of taxi drivers and I'd seen dozens of people walk past the door but none had reacted to the alarm light or heard her shouting and banging.

"I used my own disabled radar key to open the door to let her out. She was very distressed. We went and sat in the car for 30 minutes and after she had calmed down, we laughed about it. But if it had been a real emergency, or I hadn't been there, you have to wonder how long she may have been in there. All night I suppose."

Mr Harris, of Banbury, called his daughter - an ambulance control operator - to ask what he should do as the alarm light was still on and still no response had arrived. He was told to go back into the toilet and re-set the emergency button, which he did.

"On the wall beneath the alarm light is a number to call Cherwell District Council which owns the building, but it has its very old number on. I called the council the following morning and the officer gave me the number of a company that services the toilets. I politely informed him it was not my building and the council should be getting the answers, not me," he said.

A council spokesman said: "In case of any problems, the alarm inside the toilet is designed to alert any passers-by, who can in turn call the contractor Healthmatic’s 24-hour helpline.

"Healthmatic will then send someone to unlock the door. The 24-hour helpline number is provided both inside and outside the toilet.

"To open the door, users have to lift the handle which is used in combination with a thumb lock. In response to this incident, Healthmatic has visited the toilet today (Tuesday) and confirmed that the door lock is functioning properly.

"Signage explaining how to use the handle and thumb lock is displayed both inside and outside the facility but Cherwell has today asked Healthmatic to install an additional sign inside the toilet to make sure the instructions are clear and easy to see," he said.

Mr Harris said: "The only sign I noticed was under the alarm light. Whether the door was working is not the issue. Firstly there was no audible alarm to attract attention and secondly no one responded and from activation to when I reset it must have been 45 minutes.

"If you press an alarm in an elevator there's usually a speaker system so someone can talk to you and assess the nature of emergency. Even if there is a sign inside they are assuming everyone has a phone. And someone having an episode or panic attack may not be able to call even if they had one."