A MCDONALD’S Branch has announced it will ban under-18s after 5pm due to reports of youth abusing staff.
The Liverpool Church Street branch of the fast food chain confirmed that young people must be accompanied by an adult in the evenings after employees were victims of “verbal and physical abuse”.
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Reports of antisocial behavior have resulted in the chain closing its doors to teens overnight.
A client described chaotic scenes as the new policy was put into practice for the Liverpool Echoand said: “As I was leaving, the security guard stopped a man he believed to be a teenager and told him they were not allowed to allow people under 18 into the restaurant after 5pm without an adult with them.”
The man allegedly told the guard that he was in his twenties.
According to the witness, the security guard apologized to the youthful-looking restaurant and explained that it was a new policy of the establishment.
Discussing the reasons for the new rules, the client said: “I was in town the night before and there were large groups of children in Liverpool One and they were moved through security at the cinema and Chavasse Park a number of times.”
In a statement, McDonald’s explains the rule change, stressing that, at least for now, it was meant to be temporary.
A spokesperson for the fast food giant said: “In recent weeks we have seen an increase in incidents of antisocial behavior in the area where our people are subjected to verbal and physical abuse.”
“We have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to crime and anti-social behaviour, and have temporarily restricted access to restaurants to U18s from 5pm.”
The statement ended by saying: “This decision was not taken lightly and we are working closely with the police to find a solution and help reduce these incidents.”