CHURCH Street resident John Moss has not been out of his house for the past 18 months so when his motorised wheelchair arrived, he relished the prospect of a shopping trip.

But when Mr Moss ventured into the High Street, he found things were not quite as he was expecting.

"You can't get into most of the shops," he said.

"Because of the design of them, most have steps and there's no way I can drive over them.

''One of the worst places is the post office, which surprises me as so many elderly people have to go there to get their pensions."

Mr Moss was housebound with chronic arthritis but says he is now enjoying a new lease of life meeting people in the street - though he would still like to be able to get into more shops.

Butcher Reg Phillips would not take any credit for the ramp outside his shop as it was already there when he bought the business 18 months ago but said he was glad customers found it useful.

And Andy Mills, chairman of Alcester Chamber of Trade and Commerce, said he appreciated the problem traders had.

"The problem is that if they put ramps outside they would have to go so far across the pavement that pedestrians would fall over them and then they would be liable.

"The only way round it is to do what Alcester shopkeepers have been doing for years and that is serve people in wheelchairs at the door. It has worked so far."