A TikToker has spoken of her distress after asking to use an accessible toilet at an Edinburgh restaurant - only to find it had been blocked by seating.
Charlotte, who goes under the social media handle 'Sticking With It', shared her experience after requesting to use the disabled loo at the eatery. The influencer lives with the chronic illness fibromyalgia, uses a walking stick, and has been using accessible bathrooms for a couple of years.
Edinburgh Live reports that she was forced to ask a member of staff at the restaurant if they had an upstairs toilet. But the request left staff "panicked" - and she found the toilet itself in a dismal state of repair.
She said: "I had to ask someone if I could use a toilet that wasn't downstairs, as all their toilets were downstairs. The first person looked very confused, and went to his colleague who I could hear, and said 'do we have a toilet on this floor?'
"The other guy said no, straight up no. He then mentioned it to someone else, who panicked, looked at me, looked back and then ran off.
"And this disabled toilet, first of all you could only walk in, there was no space for a wheelchair. They had put permanent seating in front of half of the door."
Charlotte then shared clips from a video she took of her experience. She said they had already spent an 'annoying amount of time' clearing it before the video.
The images show boxes of beers and clothing cluttering the space, with the emergency cord tied up. The stacks of booze sit in the way of the extendable rail that can be lowered to help people use the loo in comfort.
She added: "I just couldn't believe how bad this was, and this was with them already having tidied it. As you can see, I can't take the rail down - and the rail is very important to me.
"The cord is so badly wrapped up that I couldn't undo it. Bottles were everywhere and I couldn't access the taps properly."
Charlotte, who did not name the establishment, added: "I couldn't believe just how bad it was. It's the worst I have ever been in."
Toilet provision for people with disabilities is covered by the Equality Act, which requires that "reasonable adjustments" are made for disabled people so they are not at a "substantial disadvantage" compared to those who are not incapacitated.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - sign up to our daily newsletter here.
