A PARAPLEGIC is threatening to take banking giant NatWest to court, claiming the multi-national is failing to fulfil its obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act. Maureen Scott, aged 29, is forced to sit outside the Minehead branch of the bank and shout for assistance. She then has to suffer the indignity of being physically carried up a trio of steps as the bank has no permanent or portable ramp. She said the bank's doorbell was too high for wheelchair users to reach and bank staff had to break their own health and safety guidelines to carry her up the steps. She told the Free Press: "Small businesses with access problems have my sympathy. "I have heard various horror stories of companies taken for a ride by disreputable builders who sell them overblown ramps and lifts with all the bells and whistles when all they really needed was a bell and a friendly person to answer it. "However, NatWest is a multinational and a bank, so forcing me to do any of my banking business in the street is unsafe and denying their responsibility to provide me with any form of help makes a mockery of disability discrimination laws." Ms Scott, who lives in Allerford, has been in a wheelchair for six years after sustaining serious injuries in a motorbike accident. She moved to West Somerset earlier this year and opted to bank with NatWest after the bank's own website claimed the Minehead branch was disabled-friendly. But she was shocked when she paid her first visit and found staff had to physically carry her into the branch. "I asked one of the NatWest staff why they did not have a ramp and they replied that they had applied to the district council five or six times and it had always been refused," she said. "I contacted the council to ask why it had been refused and they informed me that NatWest had only applied twice. "The first application was refused as it was a listed building and would detract from the appearance of the front, while the second application was refused on advice from the highways agency as it would block too much of the pavement. "Armed with this information I returned to NatWest, only to have the same unnerving entrance into the bank." She claimed the bank had subsequently ignored her suggestions to install a doorbell at wheelchair height while bank staff had told her they could not use a portable ramp as it would breach NatWest's own policies. "Apparently the portable ramp was refused as they have a policy of only having ramps which go up two steps and as this branch has three steps there can be no portable ramp," said Ms Scott. "They also told me the bell had been refused on the grounds of health and safety and because they could not have a ramp, they could not serve me in the street with money or bank details." She said she had ultimately been told she could always take her banking elsewhere - a claim repeated in a written letter from NatWest head office which informed her: "Where we are unable to provide level access to your branch we can make arrangements for customers to undertake their day to day banking transactions such as obtaining cash or paying bills at other banks." A spokesman from the national watchdog the Disability Rights Commission said he believed Ms Scott had a legal case against the bank and that they would fully support her if she took her case to court. He accused the bank of "hiding behind excuses" and said a refused planning permission did not exempt a company from having to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act. He said that under the Act, the bank was required by law to offer the same level of service to all its customers at each branch. "It's not acceptable to offer a service at another branch and no matter what the difficulties are in installing a ramp, the business has a duty to comply. "If they can't install a permanent ramp they should put in a portable one. "They have had more than ten years to get this sorted and to keep on saying they can't do these things now doesn't hold any water," the spokesman said. Richard Dunne, NatWest's media relations manager, said the bank took its responsibilities under the Disability Discrimination Act very seriously and was committed to providing level access at its branches wherever possible. "In this case, NatWest submitted applications to the local council in Minehead for an external ramp and also the construction of a hoist suitable for wheelchairs," he said. "The local authority rejected all of the bank's proposals. "Following the rejection of its proposals, NatWest worked with its architects to see if it could make internal changes but these have not been possible given the existing constraints of the building. "A portable ramp is not suitable in this case, as the size of the ramp required, fulfilling recommended gradients, would take up a substantial area on the pavement causing obstruction and potential risk to the general public. "In addition, taking into consideration health and safety legislation, the manoeuvring of such a device is not considered a practical proposition."