A mum from Darwen has been left feeling embarrassed and angry after being asked to leave a Darwen Wetherspoons because her five-year-old child ‘wouldn’t sit in his seat’.

The mum, known only as Carmella, was at The Old Chapel on Tuesday (October 10) to celebrate a loved one’s 18th birthday, in a group of around 30 people.

Carmella and her son, known only as River, were asked to leave as River was not sitting on his chair.

Carmella insists that River, who has ADHD (a condition that includes symptoms such as being restless and having trouble concentrating), was not behaving badly and was just playing near the group’s tables after eating his dinner.

A spokesperson for Wetherspoon confirmed that customers were asked to leave, adding that they are willing to address Carmella’s complaint.

They said only the family were asked to leave and not the entire group.

Carmella said: “We were celebrating a loved one’s 18th birthday. River had eaten his food and cake.

“A member of staff shouted at River telling him to go and sit down.

“The staff member told me ‘I am going to have to ask you to leave if he doesn’t sit down’ and pointed at the stool where he wanted him to sit.

“He was awful and had previously been staring at us angrily.

“River wasn’t going to areas where he wasn’t supposed to and it wasn’t even very busy. He stayed in the area where we were all sat.”

Carmella said it felt like her parenting skills were being judged.

She said: “The staff member made the comment ‘my children know how to sit at the table and not move’.

“His comment made me feel like I was a bad mum. Every child is different.

“I told him that he won’t sit down and that he is five-years-old and that he also has ADHD. He has eaten and now he is playing and not causing any harm.

“That is when he said ‘I am going to ask you to leave then’.

“We still had the right to be there as it was only around 6pm.”

Shortly before leaving River tried to go to the toilet but Carmella said the same staff member prevented him from doing so.

She said: “River went to the toilet [shortly before we left] and came downstairs upset and confused. He told me the member of staff wouldn’t let him go to the toilet.

“I took him upstairs to the toilet and told the staff member that this was disgusting and that I will be reporting him for this.

“River was so confused and upset. He wanted to have a good time. He kept asking me what he had done wrong.”

Carmella, from Darwen, said she will never be return to the pub.

She said: “The whole experience has left me feeling traumatised. I couldn’t sleep the night it happened as I felt so angry.

“This all happened on World Mental Health day too and River was taught about the importance of being kind at school.”

Carmella called the staff member “unprofessional”.

She said: “I work in customer service and know that it isn’t right to speak to customers like that. Staff could have come up to us politely and ask the children not to run around but they didn’t.

“I can’t get his angry face out of my head.

“It is marketed as a family-friendly pub and it says ‘children welcome’ on the website.”

Carmella has since contacted the pub for an explanation and apology.

A Wetherspoon spokesman said: “ Having been provided with the full details of the incident, the family concerned were refused further service after ignoring a number of requests to stop their children running around the pub unsupervised .

"This was causing a danger to both the children as well as to staff and other customers. Families are welcome at all Wetherspoon pubs but we do require that children are supervised at all times.”