A DISABLED Bournemouth man is urging able-bodied residents to show more respect after a new survey revealed that vulnerable people in Dorset have been beaten, bullied, threatened and spat at.

The shocking catalogue of hate crime against the elderly and disabled showed that almost half had been the victim of verbal or physical abuse.

Forty per cent have been bullied, according to disabled charity Access Dorset with only five per cent of reporting incidents to police.

Andrew Armstrong, 71, from Westbourne, who is an Access Dorset trustee, said: “These findings sadden me, but don’t surprise me.”

The retired travel agent, who suffers from severe arthritis and has three collapsed discs at the back of his spine, has been verbally and physically abused.