British man with CP denied pub entry because bouncers mistook his disability for drunkenness

From The Daily Mail in the UK:

A cerebral palsy sufferer claims he was refused entry to a pub and verbally abused when bouncers mistook his disability for drunkenness.

Matty Thompson, 18, was enjoying a night out in Whitley Bay, County Durham, with his sister and friends when a doorman allegedly barred him from entering Breeze because of the way he was walking.

When his sister Katie, 20, objected to the bouncer's complaint that 'He can't walk, he's drunk', the teenager was apparently asked to produce a medical card as proof of his disability.

Due to his condition, Mr Thompson has problems keeping his balance and suffers from shaky hand movements. (Katie and Matty Thompson are pictured.)

His mother Jenette Thompson said: 'I'm absolutely outraged. They just can't treat people with disabilities and learning difficulties like that and call him names.

'He was very upset about it. He told me he was called names. It's sheer ignorance on their part.'

Mr Thompson said he had only had a couple of pints by the time he arrived at Breeze.

He said that because of the way he was walking, bouncers there immediately refused him entry.

'My daughter said: "He's got cerebral palsy,"' claimed Mrs Thompson. 'And the bouncer said: "I don't believe that. I want a medical card."

'Katie said: "That's the way he usually walks."'

Mr Thompson said one of the bouncers then got on his radio to tell other nearby pubs not to let him in.

She said her son has been 'upset and very withdrawn' since the incident.

Newcastle United fan Mr Thompson, who attends a residential Mencap college in Dilston, Northumberland, recently got picked to play football for England on behalf of Mencap. He suffers from a form of cerebral palsy called ataxia, which causes balance problems, shaky hand movements and irregular speech.

A spokesman for Scope, the national disability charity which focuses on cerebral palsy, said: 'A disabled person should not be denied access to any premises or facilities because they are disabled.

'Disabled people have the same right to go into pubs and clubs as anyone else.

'More needs to be done to get the public, and especially those who work in customer service, to truly understand and appreciate difference so that discrimination against disabled people becomes a thing of the past.'

A spokesman for Dukedom Leisure, which owns Breeze, had no comment.