26 January 2023 , 16:22
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A photographer who lost both legs in Afghanistan claims he missed his flight after security staff took his prosthetics away.
Phil Coburn, a photographer with the Mirror, has spoken of the trouble he has had boarding planes and trains over the past 13 years.
He was in a US Marine armoured personnel carrier in Afghanistan in 2010 when it hit a Taliban bomb, killing The Sunday Mirror's defence correspondent, Rupert Hamer, and a US Marine instantly.
This week Phil was subjected to what he describes as a "power trip" at St Pancras International when border force officials made him take off his trousers and then failed to inspect his legs, he claims.
"(I was) taken to a small cubicle with two security guards asked to take off my trousers," Phil said.
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Phil has spoken about his experiences going through airport security (Ministry Of Defence)
(Daily Mirror)"I did as instructed but my legs weren’t looked at properly. (It) seemed a bit of a power trip, compounded by security supervisor who refused to give me his name and was rude and off hand when I wished to make a complaint."
He added: "It felt like I was in a training film of ‘how not to do it’."
Phil went on to speak about his previous experiences dealing with security officers at the end of a 12 months in which the ease of travel for disabled people has been put in the spotlight.
"My problems are annoying but pale in comparison with the problems some wheelchair users have had especially at airports," Phil said.
"It seems that everyone is on message with ‘disability’ rights after the Paralympics but like most things these days it rarely gets beyond real world change other than virtue signalling social media proclamations."
Phil once missed a flight at Frankfurt Airport after he was taken to a security room where guards "asked me to remove my prosthetics, then in a rather macabre fashion put them in a hold all", he claims.
"They took them away to put them through the scanner separately while I was left legless in the room," he said.
"After I had been reunited with my limbs I left the room, only to be confronted by another security guard asking if this bag was mine, pointing to my camera bag after it had left the scanner.
"They then proceeded to go through a slow inspection of my cameras despite my protestations about missing my connecting flight."
On another occasion he made a flight to Iraq "by the skin of my teeth" following a similar incident.
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"Most times security at airports and stations are fine and professional, but when you get a bad one it is is hard not to take offense and take it personally," he continued.
"Don’t blame individuals though, it is up to companies to train staff correctly."
Frankfurt Airport and Eurostar have been contacted for comment.