AN ABERGAVENNY man whose legs were blown off in the July 7 terrorist bombing outrage in London has revealed he has since been the victim of disability hate crime.

Daniel Biddle, 35, gave details of his post-atrocity problems as guest speaker at a Hate Crime Awareness conference in Cwmbran today (fri) hosted by Gwent Police.

Wheelchair-bound Daniel was on a tube train blown up by Mohammad Sidique Khan on July 7 ten years ago.

It was the first suicide bombing in UK where 52 people were murdered and more than 700 injured in the co-ordinated attack on the capital’s transport system.

Daniel, who moved to Abergavenny from London two years ago, was standing next to the extremist when the bomb exploded.

He lost both legs, an eye and his spleen in the infamous 7/7 explosion on the Circle Line at Edgeware Road. He was also left totally deaf in one ear and still suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

His crippling injuries have subsequently exposed him to abuse from those whose prejudices and ignorance are deemed as hate crimes.

Daniel, who joined 60 VIPs at the Parkway Hotel ranging from Crown prosecutors to senior police officers and representatives from leading disability groups, related some of his unpleasant experiences in the wake of his appalling injuries.

He revealed how on a visit to the tip with his wife he was subjected to an odious tongue-lashing by a woman annoyed that he was not helping his wife with the rubbish.

He explained, “Because of the layout of the tip it was difficult for me to get out of the car and do anything to help.

“So my wife got out of the car and started emptying the rubbish on her own. As she was doing this, we started receiving abuse from a woman who was calling me ‘lazy’ and ‘disrespectful to women.’

“It reached the point where my wife got my wheelchair out of the car to show her that I was disabled. However, we continued to receive a tirade of abuse from this woman. I honestly think people look at disability in a negative light pretty much 90 per cent of the time.”

He said before this morning’s conference, “Disability hate crime is underreported and that’s why I’m pleased to support this event.

“For me, it is all about harnessing the relationship between the police and the disabled community and instilling confidence in people from the disabled community to report these crimes in the first place. It’s also about educating the police on how they should be handling these crimes.”

It was such ignorance, coupled with his background of working in the construction industry, which inspired him to launch Nationwide Access Consultants Ltd - a company which advises companies on disabled access and their legal obligations to the disabled.

Gwent police and crime commissioner Ian Johnston, who organised the gathering, thanked Daniel for his contribution to the proceedings.

“This event is all about raising awareness and ensuring disability hate crime remains a priority,” the commissioner stressed.

He said there had been an increase in recorded disability hate crimes in Gwent as a direct result of victims having the confidence to report such crimes to police and partner agencies.

“We recognise there is still more work to be done as disability hate crime still only accounts for five per cent of the total reported hate crimes across England and Wales,” he explained.

He added, “We know anecdotally that disabled people’s experiences would suggest hate incidents and crimes are part of many individuals’ daily experience. This event is all about raising awareness and highlighting our unified commitment to improve our response to disability hate crime.”

Gwent Police Hate Crime Lead, Superintendent Mark Warrender, said: “Within Gwent we are really pleased that we are seeing the number of disability hate crimes reported to us increase. This means there is better community awareness around what a hate crime is, and improved confidence in reporting incidents to the Police.

“We realise there is more to do, however, and today’s conference offers a real opportunity to highlight some of the complexities that surround disability hate crime and ensure that when they are reported we maximise the chances of a successful prosecution.”