A man with cerebral palsy was left feeling ‘humiliated’ after bar staff thought symptoms of his disability were signs of him being drunk.
Ross Wilson, 35, and his mum went to meet his brother Sean at Wetherspoon’s Alexander Graham Bell in Edinburgh last Wednesday evening.
The brothers had only had two beers when Sean went up to buy their last round at about 7.30pm.
But staff had spotted Ross walking with an ataxic gait, a symptom which causes him to stagger and appear uncoordinated.
The bartender said Ross was too drunk to serve so Sean tried to explain to the manager that his brother was disabled.
But the manager was ‘dismissive and showed no understanding whatsoever’, 62-year-old mum Karen told the Daily Record.
When Karen went to speak to the manager herself, ‘he just smirked and refused to give me [her] his name’ so she could make a formal complaint.
Karen later wrote an email to Wetherspoon and complained about a ‘blatant lack of understanding around equality and discrimination’.
The company’s response stressed that the same action would be taken with any customer, saying Karen’s comments of dissapointment had been noted and passed on for ‘any necessary action’.
But the email also seemed to imply it was Karen who staff thought was drunk.
Karen was shocked at this because she is teetotal and only drank two coffees and a soda water during the family’s visit.
The company has since made it clear that it was Ross staff thought was drunk and apologised for the family’s experience at the pub.
But Wetherspoon has stuck by its employees, arguing there was a ‘genuine belief at the time that he was intoxicated’.
The company also claims a worker apologised to the family for the mistake on the night.
A spokesperson said: ‘Pub staff have a responsibility under licensing laws not to serve alcohol if it is felt that a customer is already intoxicated.
‘When the member of staff was advised that Mr Wilson suffered from cerebral palsy, he apologised for any upset caused.
‘Wetherspoon places great importance on its pubs being welcoming places for all customers and looks forward to Mr Wilson and his family returning as customers in the future.’
Elsewhere, in Liverpool, a 76-year-old grandad was allegedly refused a pint because he was ‘too old’.
Anthony Severs wanted to get a drink at Irish bar McCooley’s on July 25 while drying off from the rain on the way home.
But when he walked up the stairs, a bouncer told him he could not come in because he is ‘too old’, Anthony claims.
He complained to McCooley’s but the bar said the issue should be taken up with its security firm.
Metro.co.uk has contacted McCooley’s bar for comment.
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