WHEN Bed-and-Breakfast hostess Karen Jackson saw her disabled customers struggling with the shower, doorways and sinks, she decided to do something about it. She put them in the pigsty!

To be more accurate, she decided to transform the stable, pigsty and cow shed at her Bed-and-Breakfast in Dunnington into three separate rooms, providing all the facilities needed to make their stay a comfortable one.

Karen said she got the idea when she was visited by disabled Dundee woman Gwendoline Howe three years ago.

She saw how difficult it was for Gwendoline to manage in normal Bed-and-Breakfast conditions.

"I never realised how difficult it was for disabled people to have a normal holiday like us," she said.

"It was only when Gwendoline was staying with me that I realised how much she was struggling."

The stables have been turned into three bedrooms, all with a specially-designed shower, a lower sink and easy access for wheelchair users. There is also enough space for a guest to move around in a wheelchair.

Gwendoline said: "It was very different and difficult three years ago. I needed too much help from Karen really.

"But now I can be independent and do what I want to do. It is great - there is even a car park facility that suits my special minivan."

Kay Hyde, of York Tourism Bureau, praised Karen's Bed-and-Breakfast, saying: "It is a fantastic product for the city as we need to appeal to and accommodate everyone."

She said York had an abundance of old properties in which the provision of disabled facilities could cause difficulties..

"However, there are some guesthouses and B&Bs that do have disabled facilities, although I am not aware of anywhere that has carried out such an extensive conversion."

She said new hotels were opening in York with disabled accommodation and facalities built in.

- Costs at the Fifth Milestone Cottage Bed-and-Breakfast are £18 pp per night. For further details, telephone 01904 489361.

Updated: 13:17 Monday, July 02, 2001