ELDERLY people are in danger of being isolated in their own homes because of a ban on parking mobility scooters in communal areas of their housing complex, it is being claimed.

Residents of Hanover Gardens in Burley-in-Wharfedale have been told scooters should now be housed in an outdoor shed because of fire safety issues.

But they are warning that the new regulations will mean a difficult walk for some elderly people and could effectively leave them housebound at the Hanover Housing Association complex.

Pauline Brocksom, 75, is one of three people with a mobility scooter at the complex of flats and bungalows. She said their scooters were currently kept in communal areas outside their individual flats but they have been told this now has to change because of concerns about safety.

A letter to residents highlights a list of cases from around the country when charging mobility scooters were implicated in fires – including one in which a man died.

But Mrs Brocksom said residents had kept scooters next to their flats for decades without any problems, and she said the change would now cause serious problems for people who struggled to walk. She said no one had consulted with residents before bringing the new rules into effect.

“They have spent more than £1,000 on a hut and on putting electricity in so that we can charge our scooters,” she said. “But for the last 30 years we have charged them in the communal areas of the flats without any problems.”

Mrs Brocksom said residents had also been told they would need insurance to store scooters in their own flats – but she argued that this was not an option anyway because of a lack of space.

A spokesman for Hanover said: “Hanover regularly reviews its approach to health and safety with the view to being proportionate and sensible, and not imposing unnecessary rules. However, the increased prevalence of electric scooters has meant a greater focus on where they are stored. The view taken by the fire service, which has ultimately authority over our approach to protecting residents from fire, is foremost.”