I’ve just had a shocking wheelchair crash caused indirectly by the rain that’s been thundering down all day. And it wasn’t because the ground was slippery, as you might have expected. So I’d better start at the beginning.

Earlier this evening I went for dinner with Lottie, Will and his sister Rachel. After a lovely meal we left the restaurant and went down the road in the direction of the bus stop that Will and Rachel needed in order to get home.

The rain had eased off but the ground was soaking and covered in puddles. We crossed the road at a zebra crossing, with Lottie pushing me along as we chatted. Then we crashed! The front wheel of my chair hit the kerb and the whole thing flew forward and sideways, toppling over and crashing to the ground with me still in it.

Crashes are always shocking, for me, for the person pushing, and for anyone nearby. With help from Lottie, Rachel and Will I was soon the right way up again and thankfully had escaped any serious injury.

We’d hit the kerb because a big puddle had concealed it and Lottie hadn’t seen that the pavement wasn’t flush with the road. This is definitely not the first time pooling water’s caused this sort of problem, but it’s the first time my chair’s tipped right over.

Lottie and I will be more wary of puddles in future.