THREE disabled women have spoken of their disgust after being verbally abused by a group of men on a night out.

Sioux Blair-Jordan and her friends Jaki Whyte and Abbie Chambers were enjoying a drink outside The Duchess pub in Colchester High Street.

Ms Whyte was in her disability scooter and Ms Chambers was in an electric wheelchair.

A group of men hurled abuse at them with one of them shouting: “I hope you put your benefit claims in, you scroungers."

Ms Chambers, 37, suffers from a joint and muscle condition called Arthrogryposis.

She has never been well enough to work and needs an electric wheelchair to get about.

She branded the attack as disgusting.

She said: "Three disabled people can’t go out on a night out and have a couple of drinks without facing abuse.

“It’s not the first time I have had it either –- I have been asked before ‘What are you doing out?’

“I think we have enough trouble as it is and they were really out of order to say what they did.”

Ms Blair-Jordan 59, who suffers from ME and degeneration of the spine, said: “We were so stunned. Do they not see us as human beings with feelings?

“It could happen to anybody –- everyone is one step away from being disabled, you never know what’s going to happen.

“They were old enough to know better. The comments are disgusting and personal.”

Ms Whyte, 34, of Winsley Road, suffers from Ehlers-Danlos disorder, meaning she was born without enough collagen and her joints dislocate easily.

The mother-of-four, who runs Colchester Disabled People Against Cuts, said: “I was so gobsmacked. Some of the comments I’ve had in Colchester are just jaw-dropping.

"It put a dampener on the night and you feel like you shouldn’t have a life.”

She added: “It does happen a lot in Colchester –- more so than other areas."

The group cut short their night out after the incident at 9.30pm on Friday and went home.

Ms Whyte said the women did not report the incident to police as they could not provide an accurate enough description.