Man claims restaurant threw him out because of facial disfigurement after customers complained
A man with facial disfigurement contacted the police when a restaurant allegedly kicked him out for 'scaring the customers'.
Oliver Bromley has Neurofibromatosis Type 1, a health condition which causes non-cancerous tumours to grow on his nerves.
At the time of the incident, Oliver said was an inpatient at King's College Hospital when a restaurant in Camberwell South London told him to leave the establishment back in August.
Although Oliver has chosen not to name the restaurant, he told the BBC what happened.
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After arriving at the eatery, he noticed it was 'cash only' so he went to an ATM to withdraw some money.
On return, staff allegedly told him to 'please leave' because he was 'scaring the customers'.
He said: "After entering I noticed a cash-only sign, so went straight back outside to withdraw my money.
"I went back into the restaurant to place an order, and they told me to 'please leave', because in their words I was 'scaring the customers', and there had been complaints about me.
"There had not been enough time between the time I had been there first, and the time I went back, for anyone to have made a complaint about me, so obviously the restaurant staff were not happy with the way I looked."
Oliver said he left the establishment swiftly, without challenging their decision.
However, since then, he has complained to the restaurant and contacted the police.
"They probably thought having tumours was contagious or something," Oliver added.
The Metropolitan Police told MailOnline: "Police were called at 7.20pm on Wednesday, August 21 to reports of a discrimination incident in Camberwell.
"A man in his forties stated that he was refused service at a local restaurant due to a facial disfigurement connected to his medical condition.
"Officers attended and spoke to the victim. No arrests have been made.
"We take reports of hate crime seriously and record all instances whether they pass the threshold to be classified as a crime or not."
Charity Nerve Tumours UK said: “We were extremely disappointed to hear news of the dreadful, but sadly not uncommon, incident that Oliver Bromley experienced."
The company director Karen Cockburn added: "Whilst we have not received any response from the restaurant, I am delighted to say that UK Hospitality has offered to work with us to raise awareness of the condition amongst the hospitality sector."
LADbible Group has contacted the Metropolitan Police for additional comment.
Anish Vij