Restaurant asks man to depart as his facial disfigurement was ‘scaring clients’
A man with a facial disfigurement has been left gutted after being booted out of a restaurant for “scaring customers”.
Oliver Bromley, 42, who was receiving treatment at King’s College Hospital in Camberwell, London fancied a break from hospital grub and popped into a local eatery for a bite.
But his attempt to grab some lunch turned sour when staff at the restaurant told him punters had complained about his appearance and asked him to leave.
Despite feeling deflated over the incident, Oliver is hoping it’ll spark a movement towards better awareness and understanding of conditions like his.
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(Image: Oliver Bromley / SWNS)
The charity Nerve Tumours UK said these kinds of situations are sadly “not uncommon” and they’re pushing for a conversation with UK Hospitality to get the ball rolling on improved education.
Living with Neurofibromatosis Type 1, a condition that causes non-cancerous lumps to sprout on nerves, Oliver’s no stranger to medical intervention.
Mr Bromley, who helps run an NHS mental health crisis helpline but is currently off work, said: “I decided to take myself for lunch.
“The food looked good when I looked in one window, and I went inside. They said they were cash only, so I took some money out and went to place my order.
“The gentleman behind the counter told me there had been complaints about me, and for me to please leave. I asked him to repeat himself, and he said I was scaring customers.”
Mr Bromley, who lives in Reigate, Surrey, said he was “incredulous” at what the employee told him, as he had hardly been in the restaurant long enough for someone to complain about his presence.
“I hadn’t even sat down,” he continued. “I went to place my order and they asked me to leave. Perhaps they had seen me browsing, perhaps they didn’t want me in there…
(Image: Oliver Bromley / SWNS)
“I don’t know, but that is what they said. These are the facts.
“Obviously, I was very upset. I went to a local park to console myself and think of a plan of action on how to deal with it.”
Mr Bromley, who is originally from South Africa, personally wrote to the restaurant, which he does not wish to name, but received no response.
He then contacted the Met Police, who recorded the incident as a hate crime.
The Met confirmed to the BBC that officers had visited Mr Bromley about the incident and that although no arrests had been made, the force took “reports of hate crime seriously”.
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