Outrage as staff in pub accuse man of faking his blindness
A partially-sighted man was told to stop using his white stick at a Southsea pub by staff who thought it was a joke.
Louis Kidd, who suffers from a rare genetic form of diabetes, claims he was accused of faking his illness at Porters pub in Albert Road, Southsea, Portsmouth.
His cousin Chris Parke had taken him out for a soft drink on Tuesday night, during a two-week visit from Brighton. But after he walked to a seat using his white stick an employee told him to stop faking his condition.
Mr Kidd, who has only partial sight in his right eye and is waiting for further operations, said: 'The assistant manager came up to me and said, "Come on, mate, stop the joke".'
'He said I was taking the mickey to be doing that when I wasn't blind, which really embarrassed me.'
Mr Parke, 26, an architect at Portsmouth Naval Base from Lawrence Road, Southsea, said: 'It was completely out of order. I was taking Louis out as a treat because he feels so vulnerable at the moment.
'The employee eventually said sorry, but you don't expect that kind of behaviour in the first place.'
Later, Mr Parke said some customers started heckling their table, where his flatmate was also sitting.
He said: 'These guys came over and said the same thing, telling us we were out of order for pretending Louis was blind. At that point we were hoping the staff member would step in, but he didn't say a word.
'The whole experience has left Louis feeling worse about his condition, and that was the opposite of what I was trying to do for him.'
Alan Ferguson, manager at the Porters, confirmed to The News that an investigation had been launched. He said: 'We have started investigating. I can't comment further.'
FACT FILE
Louis Kidd, 27, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in the late 1990s.
He took regular doses of insulin, but in recent months his health and eyesight have deteriorated.
Following further tests doctors diagnosed him with a rare form of genetic diabetes, which is not helped by insulin does.
He is now taking tablets for the illness, and is waiting for further operations on his left and right eyes.
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