A WOMAN of 33 was barred from a Bournemouth pub – for being unable to prove she was over 18.
Chantal Reid’s night out with work colleagues ended early when a bouncer refused to let her into the Slug and lettuce on Richmond Hill.
The engineer was last among a group of around 10 work colleagues who were filing into the pub when she says the doorman held his arm out to stop her and demanded ID.
She says she retorted: “Are you joking? I’m 33.”
She added: “He said ‘It doesn’t matter. Have you got any ID?’”
Chantal, who lives in central Bournemouth, said: “Maybe I don’t look 33 but I certainly don’t look under 25.
“I don’t carry ID with me. I don’t go out much any more. I wasn’t driving and I didn’t ex-pect to get asked for ID at 33.”
She added: “Then he got on his radio and said ‘I’m going to call the management’.
A woman came out – she was probably my age – and I had to have a girl who was potentially younger than me telling me that I couldn’t go into a club that I was 15 years senior enough to go into.
“My friends couldn’t hear their mobile phones in the bar and I was left in the queue with people 10 years younger than me all being let in.”
She said she was not allowed to go in fetch her work colleagues so she had to go home.
“I don’t think it’s fair when you’re humiliated like that because of that situation. I felt completely and utterly picked on,” she added.
A statement on behalf of the pub said: “At Slug and Lettuce, Bournemouth we operate a robust Challenge 25 policy which means that any customer that looks under 25 will be asked to produce ID.
“Friday evenings are exceptionally busy at the premises and our door team have a duty to ensure that they adhere to this policy. “Over the past three weeks, more than 350 people have been asked to show their identification and those customers without valid ID were refused entry.
“The penalties for serving under-age customers are severe and as a responsible retailer we aim to ensure we operate a safe environment within the law.”
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