A special wheelchair to give people with disabilities the chance to access Peel Beach has been moved from the north.

As part of a joint effort between Peel Commissioners and local charity Disability Networks, the installation of the chair comes after a lack of uptake in Ramsey.

The chair is designed to be used on sand, with large and wide front wheels and slightly smaller thick wheels at the rear.

The initiative aims to allow those with disabilities to enjoy the beach, which they couldn’t otherwise do with a normal wheelchair or without one at all.

To unlock the wooden hut which stores the wheelchair on Peel Promenade it requires a radar key.

A radar key is a key accessible to anyone with a permanent disability and unlocks disabled toilets across the island and UK.

Along with Peel, Disability Networks also partnered up with Port Erin Commissioners last year to have two special wheelchairs available at Port Erin beach near the Cosy Nook.

One is an adult chair, and one is a junior chair for children aged five to 11 years.

Port Erin Commissioners have a different way of accessing the special chairs, with an online booking system on their website rather than a radar key system.

Both the chairs in Peel and Port Erin are suitable for sandy and shingle beaches but are unsuitable for stony beaches due to the soft tyres.

The big tyres can travel easily on the sandy ground and ‘gives a very comfortable ride’.

Both adult chairs have a drinks holder and a fishing line holder, and the child’s chair in Port Erin has a drinks holder.

They also have a footrest that swings out of the way to improve access.

Director of Disability Networks Beth Martin believes that Peel beach is an ideal location for the chair due to the sand and popularity.

She said: ‘We didn’t take it to Peel first, the first chair went to Ramsey because it has a lovely slight slope to push it up and down, and also when the tide goes out in Ramsey you have miles and miles of nice firm sand.’

‘If you try take a conventional wheelchair down on to the sand or stones you won’t get anywhere, it’s impossible.

‘We’ve had a number of people who have used the chairs who haven’t been able to use the beach for years, they can’t go with their families and it just means the whole family can access the beach and have that asset that the rest of us take for granted.’

When the chair was in Ramsey it was based inside Outdoors Ramsey, South Promenade, however due to its limited opening hours usage wasn’t as much as the charity had hoped for, especially after 5pm.

Beth Martin said: ‘The usage was falling off so we had a rethink and rang up the commissioners in Peel, spoke to Hazel Hannan [chair of Peel Commissioners}, who just absolutely lept at the opportunity and that’s where it is now.’

Mrs Hannan said it was an easy decision for the commissioners regarding the chair coming to Peel.

She said: ‘We’ve always had that thought that we might have it, and then we were offered it, so of course we grabbed it with both hands.

‘One thing that has to be remembered about the wheelchair is that you do need somebody who is able to push it.’

Peel Commissioners also emphasised that any issues with the chair should be reported to them.