A POLL to find the least "disabled-friendly" places in Britain has been topped by Swindon Council.

But the authority insists that the findings are unfair because it provides aid for disabled people ranging from wheelchair access to large print editions of council reports.

Coun Fionuala Foley, the ruling Conservative group's lead member for cultural change, said: "I'm completely surprised by this because nobody has raised these issues with us.

"I think that what has happened here is that somebody is obviously unhappy and has voiced that in the poll, skewing the result."

Coun Foley (Old Town and Lawns) pointed out that the council had a raft of measures aimed at promoting equal rights between able-bodied people and people with disabilities.

These include:

l Wheelchair access to council-run public buildings across the borough.

l A hearing loop system available during council meetings for people with hearing difficulties.

l Large print editions of council documents being made available for those who need them.

l A taped edition of the council's Swindon News, available for posting to anybody requesting one.

lSign language interpreters available for anybody requiring one in their dealings with the council.

l A commitment by the council to full equality of opportunity in filling job vacancies within the authority.

The poll in which Swindon is slated has been organised by the Disability Rights Commission (DRC), an independent body set up by Act of Parliament in 2000 to combat discrimination against people with disabilities and promote equality.

In a list of the 10 worst organisations when it comes to accessibility for people with disabilities, the council comes out worst with 28.44 per cent of the votes.

And in a list of the worst local authorities, Swindon Council is again voted the poorest performer, with 63.46 per cent of the votes cast.

A DRC spokesman declined to say how many votes had so far been cast, and added that the poll had only just been put online, and that the DRC would not be offering comments on the subject at this early stage.

Nor would he discuss why the poll results had been placed online if the poll was at such an early stage.

Coun Foley added: "I would encourage people who have voted in this poll, or who feels that there are problems in Swindon to come forward and tell us about them.

"I'll happily see them at their earliest convenience."

Barrie Hudson