‘I was kicked out of bar because of my wheelchair’

I was kicked out of bar because of my wheelchair

A 18-year-old woman from Oldham, Maddie Haining, recounted her experience of being removed from a Manchester nightclub after being told her wheelchair posed a safety concern. The incident occurred at Club Tropicana in the city’s Gay Village on Saturday evening, leaving her feeling both embarrassed and frustrated.

Incident Details

Maddie arrived at the club with a friend, only to be asked to leave within minutes of entering. She shared a video on Instagram capturing the exchange and emphasized:

“It’s not okay to be removed from bars because you are disabled and different to other people. If they can be in there then why shouldn’t we.”

Initially, security staff had allowed her and her companion to stay, even lifting her wheelchair into the venue. However, after her friend left for a drink, the staff returned and informed her they had to ask her to leave.

When Maddie requested to speak with the manager, he was described as “horribly rude, really really rude the whole time he was speaking to me.” She questioned how her wheelchair was a safety risk, noting:

“If I was a safety risk they wouldn’t have let me in in the first place.”

The manager later shifted the reason to a “fire risk,” prompting Maddie to display the 2010 Equality Act on her phone to clarify the legal protections for wheelchair users.

Club Response

Club Tropicana issued a statement confirming an ongoing investigation into the incident and noted:

“We have not been contacted directly by the complainant but we have been made aware of the incident.”

The venue also mentioned it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.

Legal Context

Under the 2010 Equality Act, businesses are legally required to make reasonable adjustments to ensure accessibility for disabled individuals. This includes features like ramps and inclusive evacuation plans. Refusing entry due to disability constitutes discrimination, and failure to accommodate is a breach of the law.

Maddie mentioned the manager threatened to assign any fines the club incurred to her. Despite this, she decided to leave after obtaining staff names and contact details for filing a complaint. She described the situation as “infuriating,” stating that she had already been to other bars in the city that night without issue.