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A mum was left fuming after a café refused to allow her five-year-old daughter to use the toilet.
The mum decided to treat her daughter to a meal out at the newly-opened Blossom Café in Wythenshawe, Manchester, at the weekend, but they ended up leaving before they'd even ordered.
The five-year-old needed the toilet upon arrival and her mum couldn't believe it when she was told that wouldn't be possible, as the eatery only has a staff toilet.
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In an extremely exclamation marky post on a Facebook group, the mum wrote: "I'm not even posting because I want them to care! As I'll never go to your café again!!!! Just to make other parents aware!
"After seeing (a) post about Blossom Café I thought I'd treat my little girl to a lunch date! On arrival the shop look(sic) nice, was a little cold inside but it's a cold day anyway!
"We sat down to look at the menu! My daughter who is 5 said mummy I need a wee??? I asked the lady can she use the toilet to be told NO??
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"She even went into the back to ask the manager! Still No!!! She's 5!!!!!!
"So obviously we left! Absolutely shocking!!! You should be ashamed of yourself!!!!"
The café - which has 18 seats - only opened three weeks ago, and owner Imran Alli told the Manchester Evening News that the response had generally been positive, but this incident has been 'very disheartening'.
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He explained that the toilet they do have is in a tight space nearby the kitchen, and he can't risk allowing customers into that area.
"If something happened in the back next to the kitchen, say if she slipped on something, my insurance would be void," he reasoned.
"It's not safe for anybody to go in the back except for staff. You can't fit two people in there and we couldn't take the risk of letting a five-year-old go on her own."
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Imran added that he has children himself and understands the problems parents can face.
"My children are 16 and 13 now but whenever we used to go out, to the Trafford Centre for example, we'd make sure they were prepared before they went out," he said. "This child needed the toilet as soon as she arrived.
"I'm not ruthless and saying a child can't go to the toilet for no reason, but the safety aspect comes first.
"There is shelving and other stuff there, things that could be hazardous."
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Imran said he's 'currently looking into' whether he should be providing a toilet for customers, and Manchester City Council said it would be looking into the issue too.
A spokesperson said: "Local authorities may use discretionary powers to require a venue, ordinarily, with more than 10 covers to have a customer toilet available.
"We will be sending out an officer to assess the situation with the café owner."
Topics: News, Parenting, Food and Drink
Jake Massey