A 42-year-old man with a facial disfigurement was asked to leave a restaurant in England because he was allegedly "scaring customers." Oliver Bromley from Reigate, Surrey, England who was receiving treatment at King’s College Hospital in southeast London, stopped for lunch at a local restaurant.
According to a report of NewYork Post, Bromley said that after he placed an order, the staff informed him that customers had complained about him and asked him to leave.
While upset by the incident, Bromley hopes it will lead to better education in the hospitality industry about conditions like his. Nerve Tumours UK, a charity, acknowledged that such incidents are "not uncommon" and has initiated discussions with UKHospitality to promote better awareness.
Bromley has Neurofibromatosis Type 1, a genetic condition that causes benign tumors to develop on nerves. In August, while receiving treatment from specialist surgeons Dr. Ben Robertson and Nicholas Thomas, he decided to take a break from hospital food and visit a local eatery.
Bromley, who helps run an NHS mental health crisis helpline but is currently on leave, told NewYork Post, “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, " he also said.
Bromley was shocked as he had barely been inside long enough for anyone to make a complaint. He explained, " I hadn’t even sat down. 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. 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.”
Feeling upset, Bromley wrote to the restaurant, which he chose not to name, but received no response. He then contacted the Metropolitan Police, who recorded the incident as a hate crime. The police told BBC that officers had spoken with Bromley, though no arrests were made, and emphasised that they take hate crime reports seriously.