Demand for DRC services has blasted original projections out of the water

Bert Massie, DRC

Commission spokesman Sue Pratt says the number of complaints about discrimination at work or as consumers had taken them by surprise.

"We expected to take 40,000 calls in the first year, but we have taken 50% more than that, many from people we can't help," she told BBC News Online.

Complaints range from problems at work to people in wheelchairs not being allowed into restaurants.

The Commission had expected to be dealing with about 200 cases of discrimination a year, but has been able to help over 2,000 cases.

Greater awareness

Ms Pratt said a lot of people did not understand that "disability" extended beyond wheelchair users to included people with mental health or sensory problems, diabetes or epilepsy, for example.

"A great deal needs to be done to tackle the amount of awareness and create a cultural shift in awareness," she said.

The Commission's chairman Bert Massie believes the figures revealed by the report was "only the tip of the iceberg".

He says 80% of the UK's employers do not have to abide by the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act because they employ fewer than 15 people.

He said the loophole must be addressed.

The new Disability Act would: