Wetherspoons pub boots woman with Parkinson’s out after thinking she was drunk

A WOMAN with Parkinson’s disease was booted out of a Wetherspoons pub after bungling staff thought she was drunk.

Helen Fish, 60, was on holiday in Caernarfon, Wales, with her husband and full time carer, Martin, when they decided to have some drinks in the Tafarn Y Porth.

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But after a few tipples the couple were forced to leave by staff who said Helen had too much to drink because she was “falling all over the place”.

Former petrol station attendant Helen told Wales Online:  “We had enjoyed a couple of drinks at the pub before going for a walk, after which we sat outside a nearby chip shop and had something to eat.

“But then we went back inside the Wetherspoons to order a couple more drinks – rum and lemonade for me, lager for Martin – at which point a young girl came over said, ‘You can leave once you’ve finished these – you’ve had enough’.

“My husband asked what she’d meant by that and she replied, ‘Your wife’s falling all over the place’.

“So I tried to explain that I have Parkinson’s and that causes me to shake and sway about. Honestly, I can’t keep still – I even slip and slide whilst sitting down and am forever falling off chairs.

“But all the girl could say was, ‘I’ll be keeping an eye on you’ – no apology or anything like that.”

In the 15 years Helen has suffered with her condition, it is the first time she says she has been mistaken for a drunk.

She added: “I’ve got a walking stick, I wear a pump around my neck to administer morphine and my tablets were out on the table.

“How could anyone look at me and think anything other than I must have a problem?

“For years I’ve put up with people staring at me, but I’ve never been told to leave a pub before because someone’s taken me for a drunk.”

A JD Wetherspoon spokesman said: “Wetherspoon apologises for the inconvenience and upset caused to Mrs Fish during her visit to the Tafarn Y Porth, Caernarfon.

“Having investigated the matter with the management team, the pub staff mistook the customer’s symptoms as possible signs of intoxication.

“When the member of staff was advised that Mrs Fish suffered from Parkinson’s, she apologised for any upset caused by the mistake.

“The company wishes to echo the apology provided by the pub team on the day and, if Mrs Fish wishes to contact the company’s head office directly, then it will address her concerns personally.

“Wetherspoon places great importance on its pubs being welcoming places for all customers and looks forward to Mrs Fish returning as a customer in the future.”