Disabled woman with service dog told to leave shop

A woman with multiple sclerosis said she felt "discriminated against" after being told to leave a Subway sandwich shop as she was with her assistance dog.

Louise Harris, 42, said she entered the Subway on Pavement in York on Saturday with Bella when a staff member told her: "You can't come in with a dog."

Ms Harris said she told the worker Bella was an assistance dog and was allowed to enter under the Equality Act, however he told her they "only accept guide dogs".

Subway is yet to responded to a request from the BBC for a comment in response.

Ms Harris said her family had travelled from Stoke-on-Trent to York to see the city centre ice trail and stopped off at the sandwich shop for lunch.

"When I got through the door, a staff member shouted at me from behind the counter," she said.

Ms Harris, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2007, told the staff member the dog was wearing an assistance coat and said she "assists me with my disability".

She said he replied: "I don't care what your dog has got on, we only accept guide dogs."

Under the 2010 Equality Act it is illegal to refuse access to a disabled person with their assistance dog, except in exceptional circumstances.

Ms Harris said she paid for the sandwiches she had pre-ordered online and was told to leave the shop.

"It put a dampener on the day, it felt like I'm not counted as a member of the public," she said.

"I felt very discriminated against, upset, I didn't feel like a real person."

She said all businesses and employees should gain training in order for them to understand the law.

"[MS] affects quite a lot of my day-to-day living, like opening doors, picking things up off the floor - if I drop anything Bella will pick it up," she said.

"Basically, without her, I wouldn't be able to go anywhere."

Ms Harris had to leave a Staffordshire pub due to the same issue in 2023.

She added: "You don't want to go in shops and feel discriminated against from the word go, you want to be able to feel the same as everybody else."

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