A 76-year-old man claims he was refused entry to a Liverpool city centre bar for being "too old".
Anthony Severs, from Vauxhall, was out on Mathew Street on the evening of July 25. Having left The Grapes, he walked up to Irish bar McCooley's at around 10pm to get a pint and shelter from the rain.
However, Anthony said he was left "shell shocked" when he was turned away by a bouncer, who he claims said he was "too old" to come in. Retired shipbuilder Anthony told the ECHO he had not experienced anything like it in his near-60 years drinking in Liverpool city centre.
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Anthony, who has a daughter and grandchildren, said: " I’d just come out of The Grapes - it was raining and I’d been soaked. I don’t live far from town and without the buses (due to the ongoing Arriva strike ), I was walking home.
"But because it was raining, I thought I'd go into McCooley's just to dry off and have a drink. I got up the stairs to go in, but a bouncer said I couldn’t come in. I asked why and she said I was too old.
"I said ‘that’s discrimination’. She then said nothing. I just walked away, I was shell-shocked."
Anthony continued: " How would it make you feel? It was only when I walked away that it hit me. I thought ‘hang on - too old?’.
"I was shocked, I’ve been drinking around town for 60-odd years and nothing like this has ever happened before. People might laugh - being told you're too old - it's not on."
Anthony, who said he drinks around Mathew Street because he tends to bump into people he knows, spoke to his daughter after the incident. She told him to get in touch with McCooley's in order to complain. After doing so, Anthony said he was then told to contact the firm the bar employs to provide security staff.
He explained: "W hen I got my head together, I went down to McCooley’s and they said it wasn’t down to them, it was down to the security firm. I said that I wanted a personal apology, because she kept me out personally."
The ECHO contacted the security firm and a spokesperson for McCooley's for comment.
The day after initial publication, McCooley's provided the following statement: "As a bar and restaurant venue which specialises in live music and sporting events, we pride ourselves on creating a fun, vibrant and all-inclusive environment at McCooley’s, and so we are really saddened to hear that Mr Severs has been left feeling upset, and thank him for bringing this situation to our attention.
"Unfortunately Mr Severs wasn't allowed in after leaving the Grapes but his age wasn't a factor and there may be a bit of miscommunication on the night. Most of our customers, especially midweek are indeed older. He's certainly allowed back at any time. The external security person who he wanted the personal apology from no longer works for the security company we employ, but he has received an apology from the head of the security company responsible for employing her - in person. We are informed that this took place at their offices last week in the city centre.
"If Mr Severs would like to come back we'll certainly make sure he's looked after. He had previously refused to give his details to the security company when he met them so we couldn't contact him ourselves, as a venue. The Liverpool Echo article was the first time any of the managers at McCooley's knew of the initial complaint."
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