The beach wheelchair service will allow wheelchair users access to previously inaccessible parts of Pembrokeshire’s coastline.

As from today, two all-terrain wheelchairs are available free of charge from Saundersfoot Tourist office. Users just have to leave a £20 deposit and the beach is their oyster. Unfortunately the chairs are not designed to go in the sea, but they have proved very good on soft sand.

Henry Langen from Narberth has been confined to a wheelchair for the past ten years due to muscular dystrophy. He tried out the new chair yesterday and said the new scheme would be a tremendous boon for disabled people.

“It’s the first time I’ve been able to go on Saundersfoot beach in 25 years” he said. “I’m sure it will prove very popular.”

Staff at the Tourist Information Centre have been instructed on how to use the wheelchairs and are able to assist users, as well as issuing an instruction leaflet.

The two £2000 chairs are the result of a county council initiative and have been funded by the Pembrokeshire Access Group. They were tested very successfully on the beach at Saundersfoot last April.

“The chairs are manual and have large, balloon like tyres, the softer the sand the easier they are to push,” said Pembrokeshire County Council Access Officer, Alan Hunt.

The chairs were tested at Saundersfoot last spring

Should this year’s pilot prove successful, the Access Group have secured funding that will furnish more of the county’s beaches with the wheelchairs. The pilot could also be used as model scheme for the rest of Wales.

“Unfortunately too often wheelchair users miss out on the best that Pembrokeshire can offer because of access problems," said Councillor Rob Lewis, Cabinet Member for Sports, Leisure, Tourism and Cultural Services, who helped launch the scheme today.

“These new wheelchairs will enable disabled people to explore the beach at Saundersfoot and, hopefully in later years, other beaches in the County.”