Wetherspoon customer accused of taking cocaine - but it was tissue in his nose

17 November 2023 , 18:45

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Alan Mannings blew his nose in the toilets of The Thomas Ingoldsby Wetherspoon pub in Canterbury (Image: KMG / SWNS)

A customer was left stunned when staff at a Wetherspoon pub accused him of taking cocaine, when in reality he had a piece of tissue stuck in his nose.

Alan Mannings, who owns Shop On the Green in Chartham, Kent, visited The Thomas Ingoldsby in Canterbury on Wednesday night and went to the toilet to blow his nose as he had a cold. But the 56-year-old man was shocked when he returned to the bar and was refused service on suspicions of drug use.

Mr Mannings explained that a bit of tissue had got stuck under his nose while he blew it, leading staff to mistakenly believe he had been sniffing cocaine. He said: "I'd been standing there a few minutes and wondered why I wasn't getting served. Then after a while, a barmaid came up and asked me what I wanted."

Mr Mannings said a piece of tissue got stuck to his nose (KMG / SWNS)

Another staff member then refused to serve him due to "suspicions" of drug use, he said. Mr Manning, who claims he has "never smoked and rarely drinks", was left in disbelief by the accusation. Despite explaining to the pub's staff that he had not been taking drugs, he said they would not believe him.

He explained: "I said to the supervisor: 'Do you want to think about this decision that you're making?'. She told me she had to follow through. I was so embarrassed. A friend of mine happened to be there and saw it. He just laughed in shock when I told him what they had said."

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The staff at the city centre Wetherspoons eventually allowed him to have his food and drinks but told him he would have to leave immediately after. However, Mr Mannings, who has been running his shop for six years, and his partner Joanne decided to leave and ask for a refund.

He owns the village shop in Chartham and is worried the incident will affect his business (KMG / SWNS)

It was not until he left the pub that he bumped into his friend, who told him to swipe his finger under his nose and found the piece of tissue paper. "They obviously presumed that was cocaine," Mr Mannings said. "I'm sure coke looks different to a bit of tissue.

"I'm still gobsmacked. My other half didn't sleep last night and is shocked and embarrassed by it. I laugh about it but really it's affected me and ruined my night and my morning."

Now, the businessman has vowed never to return to pub despite being a regular visitor before this incident - and said he wants an apology from the pub chain. "We really liked it and I used to go at least twice a week but won't be going back in there," he said.

The customer said he won't go to the pub again after the incident (KMG / SWNS)

"Why would I? That's not the way to treat people. They jumped to conclusions too quickly." The Canterbury resident is also worried that his business will be affected by the incident. He expressed his concerns, saying: "If you are accused of something or suspicions are raised it would ruin any business. People then pre-judge and could assume what was said is correct. I don't want the same thing to happen to anyone else."

Wetherspoon spokesman Eddie Gershon said: "We are aware of the incident and note the customer's explanation. We will investigate the full circumstances before contacting the customer directly."

* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to [email protected]

Millie Bowles