A woman captured the moment an Uber driver refused her a ride as she had an assistance dog. 

Assistance dog trainer Ruby Welsford, 31, from Leamington Spa, had finished shopping when she ordered herself and her service dog, two-year-old border collie Milo, an Uber to get home. 

Ruby is autistic and has cerebral palsy so relies on her companion Milo to get around and detect if she’s having a medical episode. 

However, when the Uber driver turned up, he saw Ruby with Milo and went to drive off before she managed to flag him down. 

The driver stated that he can’t take Milo in his car but Ruby responded that it is actually illegal to refuse a working medical alert assistance dog. 

After disagreeing with her and ignoring her pleas, the Uber driver eventually drove off and left the pair behind.

Ruby said: “My working medical alert assistance dog got refused by an Uber driver. 

“I hate recording access refusals but a friend of mine who is also an assistance dog trainer and disability advocate suggested I record all future rides with Uber.

“I have tried to go through all the proper channels to educate their drivers on how to treat an assistance dog handler but haven’t got anywhere with it. 

“Milo isn’t just a pet, I’m autistic and have cerebral palsy and he can detect medical episodes where I lose the ability to speak or move - this makes me very vulnerable without him.

“Most people were disgusted for me and said refusing an assistance dog is just as bad as refusing to take a walking stick. 

“Milo gives me independence and has changed my life.”

A spokesperson for Uber said: “Everybody should feel safe and welcome when riding with Uber. It is unacceptable for drivers to refuse to take service animals and we are investigating this incident.”

ENDS