A rail passenger has described the “humiliating” moment a cafe worker mocked his speech impediment.

Richard Procter ordered a coffee in Starbucks at the Ashford International railway station, and was handed a cup which marked his name around the lid.

The barista at the coffee chain is now believed to have been suspended after mocking Mr Procter’s stammer by writing “RRR...ichard”.

The treatment caused upset to Mr Procter, who posted his experience on the Starbucks UK Facebook page.

He wrote: “The treatment I received from one of your staff this morning was extremely offensive and humiliating.

“Would this be acceptable to a person with more obvious disabilities? I highly doubt it. Yes I have a speech impediment, and have been subjected to many jokes over the years, of which most I can handle, however there are many people that struggle to cope in public.

“This could be extremely upsetting for them. I suggest your staff are trained to have better customer service.”

Mr Procter, 42, who runs his own IT company in Kent, has since been subject of nationwide media attention following his experience.

He told the Mail Online that he sometimes struggles with the stammer when he is under pressure, and therefore tries to change a word to get round his difficulties.

But he struggles with pronouncing the letter r, which means he can face difficulty when trying to tell people his name.

He said that he was teased during childhood but has grown a thick skin to it, but added: “'It's one thing to have people say things to you but then doing it and handing it back in my face on a cup is something else.”

In response, a Starbucks spokesman said: “We were disappointed to hear of this customer's experience and have been in touch directly to apologise.

“The actions of the partner involved were unacceptable and they have been suspended pending further disciplinary action.

“We aim to provide a warm and welcoming environment for all of our customers, and plan to provide additional awareness training for our store partners in future.”