Barry Dobner, a 79-year-old disabled man, has recounted the humiliating experience of being ordered off an easyJet flight because he was unable to walk to the lavatory. Scheduled to fly from Manchester to Athens on April 3 with his wife Alison and friend Sheila for a two-week holiday in Greece, Barry's plans were dashed just minutes before take-off.

Despite having arranged wheelchair-friendly transport and accommodation in Greece, Barry, who has been wheelchair-bound since suffering a stroke 18 years ago, described the distressing scene: "The whole plane was standing up watching what was going on. You can imagine how that made me feel."

According to Barry, from Rock Ferry, easyJet had been informed of his wheelchair use when booking, and they received assisted boarding, being seated in the 11th row for the four-hour flight set to depart at 4.40pm. However, trouble arose when cabin crew noticed Barry had a portable urinal bottle in his hand luggage.

Barry told the Liverpool Echo: "A stewardess walked by and she said 'excuse me, do you have a urinal bottle?'. My wife said yes, in case of emergencies. She said 'hang on a minute'; she came back and said 'can your husband walk to the toilet'?"

Barry, a disabled man, was left humiliated after being removed from an easyJet flight because he couldn't walk to the toilet. His wife recounted the distressing incident: "My wife said 'no, my husband can't walk at all'. They said 'you have to get off this plane'. My wife asked why and they said 'because he can't walk to the toilet'."

The couple, who had previously flown without issue, were shocked by the treatment they received. Alison, 67, expressed her dismay: "We have flown with easyJet and with Ryanair before, and we have never had anything like this before."

She added: "What upsets me the most is the way he was spoken to. To treat a disabled person like that was appalling, especially when they had all the information beforehand. It's just ludicrous. The other passengers were sitting there gobsmacked."

Barry shared his emotional response to the situation: "I've always been a happy go lucky chap but this has knocked me back a bit. I feel like just an object, I'm not a person any more. My self respect had gone right down."

He continued: "Since I had my stroke I've been in a wheelchair and I've been trying to keep not maudlin and carry on. But when someone says that to you it knocks the stuffing out of you. It's that sort of feeling. Your confidence just disappears."

Despite having flown six times since his stroke without problems, Barry was baffled by the airline's decision: "I've flown six times since my stroke and it's always been fine before this. They knew I couldn't walk when they put me on the plane."

The holiday, meant to celebrate Barry's upcoming 80th birthday, turned into a nightmare as the couple faced a loss of around £2,000 due to the missed flight. They are now dealing with their holiday insurance providers and have lodged a complaint with easyJet.

Barry expressed his frustration for financial loss they faced: "We had hotels booked in Athens. We had a hire car paid for to pick us up at the airport, and we've lost £2,000. We've lost everything. We don't know if we'll get the flight money back. When I asked if we'd be reimbursed for the flight, we just got told to call easyJet."

A easyJet spokesman said: "We are very sorry Mr and Mrs Dobner and their companion were unable to fly as planned with easyJet. We are in touch with Mr Dobson and his party to apologise for this error and to refund them in full for their flight and provide them with denied boarding compensation.

"As an airline, we are committed to making easyJet accessible to everyone. easyJet carries around one million passengers requiring some form of assistance each year and our research shows that 87% of easyJet passengers who require this are satisfied with the services we provide."