Disabled users of an Underground station have gathered to protest against numerous closures to lifts, which has left them unable to access the station.

Transport for All hosted the demonstration for those using step-free access at Oakwood station.

Commuters were left incensed at recent closures due to staff shortages - on seven occasions in just two weeks that step-free access was not available.

In addition, a Freedom of Information document from the Liberal Democrats assembly members Caroline Pidgeon reveals that the lift at Oakwood has been closed 14 times during the past year.

Campaigners travelled from Caledonian Road to Oakwood station spreading the word

Lianna Etkind, of Transport for All, said: "When cuts to London Underground staff were announced, TfL assured disabled people that accessibility would not be affected. Yet actually, the number of hours of lift closure on the Underground has risen in the last year.

"More than a quarter of the Tube is out of bounds to mobility impaired people anyway, so when stations where a lift has been installed are closed to us too, it’s another kick to our freedom to travel independence.”

According to the group, lift closures across the capital due to staff shortages has rocketed by more than 50 per cent in the past year.

Tony Matthews, general manager of the Piccadilly Line, said: "Overall, lift reliability on the Tube network is very good, with lifts available for more than 99 per cent of scheduled hours over the last year. Unfortunately, industrial action has meant that the lift at Oakwood has had to be taken out of service several times recently. We always advertise this immediately to customers and are working to resolve the dispute as quickly as possible.

“We are investing hundreds of millions of pounds in making the network more accessible with new trains, lifts, and other improvements. We have staff at every station when services are running and always try to make sure that, for every station with a lift, staff are available to look after it. I apologise to any customers affected by the lift being unavailable.”