A 1,000-signature petition was handed to the council after a woman with learning difficulties was denied free travel.

The petition was handed to the mayor of Hounslow, Councillor Colin Ellar, at a full meeting of the council on Tuesday. It calls for Yvonne Chappell to have her Freedom Pass reinstated and the officers who refused to renew her pass taken to task.

Ed Driscoll, a friend of Miss Chappell’s, who launched the petition, said: “She has a statutory entitlement to her pass.

“Her pass should be reinstated without any ifs or buts as it was before when she held the pass for the last 10 years.”

Miss Chappell, of Bath Road, Hounslow, has learning difficulties and mental health problems and had been issued with a pass allowing her to travel for free on public transport for 10 years.

But in April Hounslow Council told her that her Freedom Pass would not be renewed, because she scored higher than 70 in an intelligence test.

However, Miss Chappell and Mr Driscoll claim she was never given an IQ test.

And Mr Driscoll discovered that his friend was not alone in having her pass revoked. Council figures show that 122 passes have been revoked in the past year.

With the help of Mr Driscoll, Miss Chappell challenged the decision and a request was made to the council for further information from Miss Chappell’s GP.

A Hounslow Council spokesman revealed this week Miss Chappell’s pass could be reinstated, after requested information was received by the council.

But Mr Driscoll, of Whitton Road, Hounslow, claimed Miss Chappell’s pass will only be renewed if she meets new requirements, which was not the case with her previous pass.

A protest was held outside the civic centre in Hounslow before the meeting on Tuesday, when the petition was handed over.

Attending the protest was Tina Williams, whose Freedom Pass was also not renewed by the council despite having had it re-issued for the past 28 years.

The petition calls on the officers responsible for deciding who should and should not have a Freedom Pass renewed to be reprimanded.

A Hounslow Council spokesman said: “We have received this petition which will be dealt with in the usual way.

“Having received the evidence we requested, we wrote to Miss Chappell to let her know she is entitled to a pass.”

q If you have had your Freedom Pass revoked or can help with the campaign, call Mr Driscoll on 07943 433335.