I AM emotionally and physically exhausted after caring for my disabled son since April as he has been too ill to attend school. But after reading Mrs Jones' letter (August 14) regarding free parking for the disabled at Hereford County Hospital I am so angry that I have summoned up the time and energy to reply.

Widening the issue, most people cannot have any idea of what it is like to be disabled and take normal activities so much for granted. We have just returned from the seaside with our son and getting down onto the beach with a wheelchair is a marathon task on even the most accessible beach, with help rarely offered from the able bodied.

When visiting London for hospital appointments we are forced to use taxis as the underground is impossible to negotiate with a wheelchair. A trip to the Odeon cinema in Hereford (no lift) is out of the question. Going to the theatre is fine as long as a wheelchair space is booked long in advance. I could go on and on. I would be the happiest mother in the world if we had no need of a disabled parking permit and able to choose from a complete range of transportation - even walking! I often joke that the only perk of having a disabled son is to be able to park (if you are lucky) and not have to pay and yet even this is resented. I am sickened by attitudes like those that have been expressed and I am in despair of society ever being more accepting of disability.

ANNE PARKER

Fownhope

Hereford