Bluewater security guard orders blind man with a guide dog out of the shopping centre to the fury of fellow shoppers
- Blind man was told he had to leave the shopping centre by a security guard
- Other shoppers intervened but the guard insisted the man had to get out
- Bluewater has apologised for the incident and said it is ‘retraining’ its staff
This is the moment angry shoppers confronted a security guard who told a blind man with a guide dog to leave a popular shopping centre.
In the video, filmed on Saturday at Bluewater in Kent, a female shopper can be heard saying ‘you do know they’re allowed everywhere?’ before the blind man said he would carry on shopping.
Meanwhile, the security guard who asked the man to leave turns around so his back is facing the camera.
In the video, filmed on Saturday at Bluewater in Kent, a female shopper can be heard saying to a security guard (left) ‘you do know they’re allowed everywhere?’ before the blind man (seen on the right with his dog) said he would carry on shopping
Pauline Letchford, 61, was shopping with her family when she realised what was happening.
She said: ‘The man’s wife was going into the shops. We noticed the dog because it was so beautiful. He just stood by the barrier and never took the dog into a shop.
‘We then noticed the security guard started to follow them and then he said “you’ve got to leave, you can’t have a dog in here”.
‘The man and his wife politely explained that he was blind and he was allowed to be with a dog. It was awful that he was being targeted like that. I felt so sorry for him.’
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Mrs Letchford, from Southend, Essex, said the security guard ‘did not budge’ and kept saying the man had to leave.
‘It was a very humiliating situation for the man to go through,’ she said.
‘The dog was so calm and well behaved as well. What the security guard did was outrageous and a complete disgrace.
‘The blind man then said ‘is he for real?’. People started to jump in and defend the man. But the security guard said “right, there’s a crowd, I’m getting back up”. It was a farce.’
The security guard who asked the man to leave turns around (left) so his back is facing the camera while the shoppers continue to berate him (right)
Bosses at Bluewater in Kent have ‘apologised unreservedly’ for the incident.
Mrs Letchford added: ‘I don’t understand how an earth anybody would think it would be OK to tell a blind man with a guide dog to leave the shopping centre. We all stood out ground. It was terrible.
‘People should not have to experience situations like that. He didn’t deserve to be treated like that. It was disgusting.’
Bluewater said: ‘Assistance dogs are and always have been welcome at Bluewater.
‘We are aware of an incident where a guest was mistakenly asked to leave with their assistance dog.
‘We have been in touch with the guest in question directly and have apologised unreservedly for this error.
‘As a result of the incident, urgent re-training of the security team has taken place to prevent a similar situation in the future.’
Bosses at Bluewater in Kent have ‘apologised unreservedly’ for the incident. The centre is pictured in an undated photo
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