A 76-year-old man says he was refused entry to a pub because he is too old. Anthony Severs walked up to Irish bar McCooley's in the centre of Liverpool but was turned away by a security worker, reports The Echo.
Anthony said: "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 added: "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 spoke to his daughter after the incident and she told him to get in touch with McCooley's to complain. Anthony said he was then told to contact the firm the bar employs to provide security staff.
He said: "When 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."
A spokesperson for McCooley's has since told The Mirror there appeared to have been miscommunication on the night and insisted age was not a factor.
“Most of our customers, especially midweek are older. He's certainly allowed back at anytime. The security person who he wanted the personal apology from no longer works here unfortunately, but he has received an apology from the head of the door firm responsible for employing her in person. If he wants to come back we'll certainly make sure he's looked after.”
The Echo has contacted the security firm for comment.
