Restaurant 'refused to let disabled children eat'

Whitbread apologised to the family and said it was reviewing its policy

A woman said she was left "shocked" and felt "unfairly penalised" after she was told her disabled children could not eat in a restaurant.

Kate Sicolo, from Truro, said she visited a Whitbread Premier Inn restaurant in London Paddington with her partner Emma and their two children.

The couple took pre-prepared meals for their children, due to their disabilities, but Ms Sicolo said she was told by staff they could not eat them because of the company's no "outside food policy".

Whitbread has since apologised and said "an exception should have been made to meet the needs of the disabled children".

Kate Sicolo said she was "not looking for compensation"

The couple said their daughter was tube fed and had liquidised food, and their son had minced food due to his Down's syndrome.

Ms Sicolo said her family was approached by a member of staff and was told that Premier Inn's policy stated they could not bring in food from outside, and the couple were told they could eat but the children could not.

"We had to leave the restaurant because we could not feed the children," she said.

Ms Sicolo said she contacted the company which reiterated its policy and offered her a £150 voucher for its restaurants, which she declined as her family could not eat there together.

"We are not looking for compensation," she continued.

She said the "policy does not only affect my children" but thousands of other people "who are tube fed and those people have a right to go and eat in a restaurant with their family".

Kate Sicolo said she had to leave the restaurant because she could not feed her children

Whitbread said "inclusion is incredibly important" and added it was "sorry for the issue Kate, Emma and their children encountered".

"While our team acted in good faith (for safety reasons linked to allergens it is generally not allowable to consume externally purchased food on our premises), clearly an exception should have been made to meet the needs of guests with disabilities," it continued.

"We will be refreshing our processes to ensure it is fully understood that exceptions should be made in specific circumstances to meet the needs of guests with disabilities."