TRANSPORT bosses should rip up the Tube map to remove indications that Stanmore station is disabled friendly, the town's MP has claimed.

Conservative parliamentarian Bob Blackman, who represents Harrow East, has asked senior figures at Transport for London (TfL) to rescind the official designation because he does not believe the Jubilee line terminus is accessible for passengers in wheelchairs.

At present, passengers with disabilities must use a 450-metre long ramp that leads into the station car park, despite dissatisfied residents and campaigners calling for a lift to be installed.

Mr Blackman said: "I have written to Peter Hendy, TfL commissioner, Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, and the managing director of London

Underground, Mike Brown, making the point that the fundamental issue to start from is that Stanmore station has not got step-free access, despite the best efforts of everyone.

"I'm going to challenge TfL that it is step-free and that somebody using a wheelchair can access the ramp by themselves. I don't believe you can.

"I recently spoke to a Paralympian who is a wheelchair basketball athlete and he could not manage to leave the station without assistance."

Mr Blackman heard the athlete's concerns during his tour of the Aspire National Training Centre (ANTC) in Wood Lane, Stanmore, which is run by spinal cord injury charity, Aspire.

London Wheelchair Rugby Club is based at the centre and one of its players is Harrow Weald resident Justin Frishberg, who represented Great Britain at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

The 38-year-old said: "Whether the station has got the disabled 'badge' or not, it's not as accessible as it should be. If it's got the badge, it should be as accessible as possible, but what's happened is that TfL has become complacent and they think they don't need to do anything else.

"There's some very simple things that could be done to improve matters. The car park is always full and the disabled spot is always full, and that's a major issue."

Alex Rankin, head of service at Aspire, said: "It's incredibly misleading to have that wheelchair symbol sign on Stanmore station.

"The wheelchair accessible ramp just isn't accessible for wheelchair users. It's far too long, the road is in such a poor condition and it's exposing people to danger. It is frustrating for anybody coming up to use Aspire or the hospital."

A TfL spokesperson said: "London Underground is committed to making the Tube network as accessible as possible for all our customers. The step-free access symbols are very useful for mobility impaired people to see that there is step-free access from street level to platform.

"Our new step-free Tube guide also explains how to plan your Tube journey from Stanmore station.

"London Underground has made it clear that it does not have the funding available to install a lift at the present time. We are assessing the situation at Stanmore to see if technically something can be done which would not be as expensive as installing a lift."