Peter Ralston

The technician who fitted it, Glynn, was an extremely capable engineer and even though he had to fabricate a part for the scooter itself he had the hoist installed and working very soon. I am very impressed with the quality and design of the hoist and the car was left immaculate when he finished.

When Peter Ralston’s lightweight mobility scooter overbalanced while he was riding it, the 79-year-old decided it was time to buy a sturdier model.

He duly went out and purchased a Maximo, which gave him the stability that he was looking for. But there was a downside, in that, at 45kg, the scooter was too heavy for him to lift into the back of his Land Rover Freelander – something he had done previously with his 25kg scooter.

With two scooters, Mr Ralston, from Formby in Lancashire, decided to use his Maximo for local trips – down to the village shops – and his lighter model for days out and shopping trips at destinations he could only reach with his car.

However, concerned that another fall was around the corner, he soon decided he wanted to find a way to take his Maximo with him in his vehicle to enable him to enjoy the best of both worlds.

Looking for a solution, Mr Ralston went online and contacted Autochair, ending up by purchasing an Olympian scooter hoist, which has been fitted into the boot of his vehicle and lifts the Maximo into the car at the touch of a button.

Mr Ralston said: "My Maximo has a range of about four miles which gets me to the village and back but I wasn’t able to take it anywhere else. Now I can drive to the village and further afield because the hoist lets me put it into the car.

"The technician who fitted it, Glynn, was an extremely capable engineer and even though he had to fabricate a part for the scooter itself he had the hoist installed and working very soon. I am very impressed with the quality and design of the hoist and the car was left immaculate when he finished.”

Since the hoist has been fitted, Mr Ralston has been able to take his Maximo on trips to visit his family in Warwick, to go shopping in nearby Southport and visit Blackpool.

He added: "When I use my hoist in supermarket car parks, people stop to watch and it’s a talking point.

"I am very happy with it. I wasn’t hurt when I fell off my lighter scooter but it could so easily happen again that I prefer to use my Maximo scooter anywhere I go, and my Autochair hoist lets me do that.”

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