A young mother has spoken of her anger after being asked to leave a coffee shop because her two-year-old son was too noisy.
Bosses at Caffe Nero have now apologised for the way in which 21-year-old Charlotte Barter, and her son, Aaron-Tyler Whittock were treated.
She and her partner Jamie Whittock, 29, had been at the firm's branch at SouthGate in Bath with Aaron, who was recently diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
Miss Barter, from Radstock, admitted Aaron had become loud and distressed, but said they had been using distraction techniques to calm him down. After being approached by a member of staff concerned about her son's behaviour, Miss Barter, who works with adults with learning disabilities, asked to speak to the manager.
She said: "The manager then told me my son was really noisy and people were complaining. I said I thought it was a family-orientated place. I said he had ADHD and the manager said they don't cater for people like that and then he compared my son to a drunk. He told me if there was a drunk in the cafe he would ask him to move or to leave – but my son doesn't choose to have this condition."
Spokeswoman for Caffe Nero, Ceri Aiken, apologised for the incident and said: "We are conducting an internal investigation into what happened. All staff undergo rigorous training and we don't condone behaviour like this. Everyone is welcome in our stores."
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