Where is respect?

Published: 12 March 2010

• I SHOULD like to tell you of a hate crime in one corner of Islington and to ask politicians and faith leaders how they are dealing with it.
My son is 48, has been in a wheelchair since a cricket accident more than 30 years ago and can do little for himself except think.
Last month, after he arrived home following treatment for pleurisy at University College Hospital, his part-time carer and I discovered that the gas hob was not working and the central heating, on a very cold night, was failing. 
I called the gas services and the engineer discovered that the supply had been turned off at the meter, which can be reached from the outside of my son’s flat.
If he had been alone at that point – he chooses to live alone – he may have died of hypothermia.
This is not the first time such an incident has occurred. A year or so ago, children attacked his kitchen window with an airgun and police were called.
Is it so unusual to see people in wheelchairs in Islington going about their business? Should not teachers and preachers teach some respect and compassion towards people with disabilities? Our politicians, too, may have something to say on the matter.
I should like to hear what it is.
BERYL LEAVER
Ronalds Road, N5