THE owners of the BP garage in Birmingham road have apologised, after a blind woman was forced to leave the shop in Bromsgrove when a member of staff said her guide dog was “dirty” and not allowed inside.

The 26-year-old woman, who wishes not to be named, was walking her labrador home from Sanders Park on Tuesday afternoon when she stopped at the garage to get her dog some water.

She was approaching the fridges inside the garage when she heard a man shouting that she had to leave.

She said: “I heard someone behind me shouting ‘excuse me’ but I didn’t realise it was aimed at me. He came towards me saying I had to leave the shop because of the dog, saying she was dirty and shouldn’t be in there. He said she was touching the food but I know she wasn’t because I wasn’t close enough to the fridge – even I couldn’t reach it.

“He was saying because she was touching the food he wouldn’t be able to sell it to other customers. Obviously I couldn’t see him but it felt like he was coming towards me, which I didn’t like. It was coming across quite aggressive and it frightened me.”

The woman added: “I lost my sight in November, living in Walsall, and moved to Bromsgrove after that. Whenever I’ve been anywhere else in Bromsgrove everyone has been helpful, asking me if I need anything – that’s why it was such a shock. I’m just glad there were people in there. I wasn’t sure what he was going to do.”

Lara Ballinger, 25, from Stratford-Upon-Avon, was in the BP garage at the time, and confronted the angry employee.

She told the Advertiser: “He was telling her to get the dog out of the shop and the lady said ‘but it’s my guide dog’ but he continued to say ‘I don’t care, get it out – away from the food’, which is all in packets and the dog wasn’t even looking at the food.

“I shouted across the shop how out of order he was then went outside to find the lady crying and in shock as she said that had never happened to her before. I told her I would be reporting it and there were two builders there who said they would be as well.”

As a result of the incident, the anonymous woman said she got lost on her walk home and had to be redirected by an old man who rushed over to help her.

A spokesperson for BP said: “BP aims to create an environment of inclusion in all our stores and always seeks to respect everyone equally to provide the very highest standards of customer care.

“While we do not own or operate this site, this approach towards access with guide dogs is not consistent with our expectations. We have already brought it to the attention of the owner.

“While no offence was intended, we believe the individual on duty has not followed the appropriate procedures and this matter will be investigated and further training given to prevent a recurrence.”

The incident has also been reported to Guide Dogs, who has since sent out a letter to the BP garage in question.

Sue Bushell, the regional Guide Dogs community engagement officer, said: "I was disappointed to hear about one of our guide dog owners being asked to leave a shop in Bromsgrove yesterday. It is very embarrassing and humiliating when this happens and I have already been in touch with the manager and provided them with information that they can share with staff, explaining that, under the Equality Act 2010, assistance dogs are allowed in and how to assist people who are blind or partially sighted."

The site on Birmingham road is owned and operated by MRH Retail, which has since sent an area manager to the garage to investigate the issue further.

The manager interviewed the member of staff involved, as well as a customer who witnessed the incident.

An MRH spokesperson said: "The area manager has said that yes, the lady concerned was dealt with in an inappropriate manner by the member of staff concerned.

"We have a very clear policy that guide dogs are permitted on our service stations at all times. In fact we publicy display that fact in the window of our store and there shouldn't be any deviation from our policy.

"We have written to the customer concerned asking her to contact us so that we can apologise to her directly.

"The area manager has given the member of staff some words of advice and guidance and we are also going to look at our site staff training materials that deal with disability awareness to see if we need to change anything or enhance coverage in respect to guide dogs."

Anyone wishing to find out more about guide dog access should email birmingham@guidedogs.org.uk.