A PENSIONER with severe arthritis was in ‘floods of tears’ after being left stranded in his wheelchair at Alicante-Elche Airport.

Billy Howard, of Chisworth Close, Leigh, missed his flight home from a holiday with a friend after airline and airport staff forgot to help him board the plane as part of the wheelchair assistance service he had booked.

The 73-year-old, who struggles to walk unaided and is in constant pain due to his arthritis, was stranded in the Spanish city for 24 hours.

He had to wait for his friend to raise the alarm when he landed at Manchester Airport before his belated return home was arranged.

The granddad-of-nine, who used to be a builder in the Leigh area, said: “I was just left stranded. I heard my name called on the airport tannoy and I twice told Ryanair and airport staff that I had booked the wheelchair assistance service and they needed to take me to board my plane but they ignored me and then the plane went without me.

“They didn’t apologise at all. They just offered me a flight to Bradford “When I asked how I would get home to Leigh from there all they said was it ‘was my issue to sort out'.

“Well, I wasn't doing that. They wouldn’t put me on another airline either so I sat in the airport for more than five hours on my own with nothing.

“My bag with my mobile phone, money and painkillers, which I need for my arthritis, was on the plane.

"I had nothing, not even money to buy food, and I was in a lot of pain.

“My friend on the plane was worried sick when I didn’t get on board and luckily called my partner when he landed to tell her that something was wrong.”

Billy's partner of nine years, Gloria Edwards, 61, called the airport to find out what had happened.

After she complained about Billy being left stranded in Spain, the airport arranged for him to spend the night in a nearby hotel before flying back to Manchester at 5.05pm the next day.

Gloria said: “I was beside myself with worry. I didn't know a thing about it until his friend called me from Manchester airport to tell me Billy didn’t get on the plane.

“I called Ryanair and the airport and eventually I did get to speak to Billy, who was in floods of tears.

“I just felt so helpless because I wasn’t there to help him.

"I told them they can’t just leave Billy there and they booked him a hotel after he had been left in the airport for five hours.

“I was relieved when he finally got back the next day, but it ruined his holiday.”

A spokesman for Ryanair said: “After looking into the incident we found that no wheelchair assistance had been pre-booked with us by the customer in question.

“When the customer arrived at the check-in desk at Alicante, a request was made for wheelchair assistance.

“Lesma Handling, the third party handling provider at Alicante airport, failed to notify the wheelchair service provider.

“Lesma Handling has accepted full responsibility for its failure and has taken the necessary steps to ensure this does not happen again.”