Barred from entering bakery

A BLIND woman was left ‘humiliated’ after being denied entry into a bakery because of her guide dog.

Diane Stephen said she was told by the shop’s manager to stay outside Wenzel’s, in Ickenham, because ‘dogs are dirty’.

The company, which runs 29 bakeries across northwest London, has since apologised, saying the manager acted against its policy and has been ‘severely dealt with’.

Wenzel’s is also to donate £100 to a charity of Mrs Stephen’s choice.

Mrs Stephen, 53, of Burnham Avenue, Ickenham, had popped to the shop in Swakeleys Road for a sandwich on Tuesday, November 4.

But she was shocked to hear the manager say she could not enter because she was with her two-year-old Labrador retriever, Goldie.

Mrs Stephen said: “I just got over the step to get in and the manageress said ‘no’ and stopped me and said I couldn’t go in.

“Her reason was ‘dogs are dirty’. I tried to explain to her it’s a guide dog, and said ‘she’s perfectly clean’, but she wasn’t listening.”

A young woman came to Mrs Stephen’s aid by trying to reason with the shop manager while another woman looked after her.

Sarah Wenzel, general manager of the company, said: “This particular, isolated case, which occurred in Ickenham, was due to the manager not following company policy. She took it upon herself not to allow the dog in the shop.”