AN OXFORD wheelchair user has welcomed a Supreme Court ruling as a 'great victory'.

Robert Light said the ruling that FirstGroup bus company must do more to accommodate wheelchair users above pushchairs should send a message around the UK.

Oxford Bus Company and Stagecoach also welcomed Wednesday's ruling.

The high-profile case was brought by Yorkshireman Doug Paulley after he had an altercation with a bus driver in 2012.

Mr Paulley, from Wetherby, had tried to board a FirstGroup bus which had a sign saying 'Please give up this space if needed for a wheelchair user'.

However a woman with a sleeping baby in a pushchair was sat in the space and refused to move, even when asked by the driver.

Mr Paulley argued that a bus driver must have the powers to help wheelchair users access designated spaces.

On Wednesday the Supreme Court said bus drivers must 'consider' taking further steps to persuade non-wheelchair users to move, although the ruling stopped short of making it a legal duty to move them.

Mr Light, 75, who lives at Moorside Care Home in Kidlington, said: "This is brilliant.

"Now a driver can ask someone to come out of a disabled space and they've got to, according to the law.

"The driver now has to take more serious action if someone doesn't move – it's a great victory."

Mr Light, who has regularly taken bus companies to task in the past, said he had also spoken to an Oxford Bus Company driver this week who welcomed the ruling as 'fantastic news' because it helped clarify the law.

In an official statement Oxford Bus Company said it had revised its 'conditions of carriage' – wheelchair policy – to reflect the judgement.

However managing director Phil Southall was less clear about who should get priority on his buses.

He said in a statement: "All our local bus services have a separate wheelchair and buggy space on the vehicles to try to ensure that there is enough space for everyone, but we recognise that sometimes, on busier journeys conflicts can arise."

Stagecoach, meanwhile, said its existing policy had been 'endorsed' by the Supreme Court ruling.

Business development manager Karen Coventry said: "We have always been very clear that designated wheelchair spaces on our buses are for the priority use of wheelchair passengers or customers using other approved mobility devices.

"This is made clear to customers by signage on our vehicles and a number of our buses also have a separate area for prams and buggies.

"Our driving team is trained to implement our policy and our experience is that the overwhelming majority of our customers respect and co-operate with this position."