Mum's Christmas toilet selfies aim to raise disability awareness

A mum is posting festive selfies of herself on the loo to raise awareness about the problems those with disabilities face using public toilets.

Sarah Brisdion from Hampshire began campaigning for better facilities after experiencing difficulties with her son who has cerebral palsy.

In the run-up to Christmas, she is posting pictures on social media of herself on the loo in various costumes.

She said there had "great response" to the pictures and accompanying messages.

Mrs Brisdion, from Brockenhurst in the New Forest, wants more venues to install hoists and changing benches - which is not currently a legal requirement - for those who wear nappies or pads.

Her Hadley's Heroes campaign came about following her experiences with her seven-year-old son Hadley who has Cerebral Palsy and who she said often had no choice but to lie on toilet floors to have his continence needs met.

She is aiming to post a selfie with a different costume each day as an "advent calendar" on social media, concluding with a nativity scene.

"I can preserve my dignity and choose to share these photos - whereas for some they don't have that choice.

"Other parents have been saying 'thank you for doing this, we have to go through this as well', and from people with disabilities who say they can never find somewhere to change and have to lie on the floor, so that in itself makes it worth my while," she said.

The Hadley's Heroes campaign has successfully helped to complete the so-called Changing Places toilets at Portsmouth International Port, New Forest District Council in Lymington and a smaller-scale facility in New Milton.

"None of us would lie on a toilet floor to change a sanitary towel or a nappy, but that's what people with disabilities have to do every day in places where there is no Changing Places toilets, so it is literally life-changing," she said.