A RESTAURANT in Weaverham which was accused of refusing access to an owner and her guide dog has said it would never have purposefully asked someone with an assistance dog to leave.

Jessica Driver said she was asked to leave the Cumin Cottage in High Street, after entering with her guide dog Kenzie and family to celebrate her graduation from Liverpool University.

She said she was left feeling 'upset and embarrassed'.

The Cumin Cottage said the family did not make it clear they wanted to bring in a guide dog and thought they were referring to a pet dog.

As soon as it was made clear that Kenzie was a guide dog, they said she was welcome.

The restaurant has apologised for any misunderstanding and also offered Jessica a free meal.

A spokesperson for the restaurant added: “They said ‘we’ve got a dog’, so we said we didn’t allow pets.

“As soon as they said it was a guide dog, we said it was fine.”

In England, Scotland and Wales, the Equality Act means guide dog and other assistance dog owners have the right to enter most services, premises and vehicles with their dog.

Jessica Driver is raising awareness of the rights of guide dog owners with a project entitled: ‘It’s not just a canine… it’s a lifeline’.

Northwich Guardian: Jessica Driver and her campaign t-shirt with KenzieJessica Driver and her campaign t-shirt with Kenzie

Her mum Stephanie enlisted help in creating a logo including all the service dog colours, which is printed on T-shirts to help put out their message and raise money for charity.