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Accusations of ageism have been levelled at a nightclub after bouncers refused a group of women entry for wearing open-toe shoes.
Footage shows a doorman at The Cuban in Canterbury telling four revellers late on Saturday they would not be allowed in for “liability reasons”, as they could cut their toes on broken glass.
Women refused entry into The Cuban for wearing open-toe shoes
But as the women remonstrated with the security worker, a number of other punters in the same kind of footwear were waved inside the High Street nightspot.
A member of the group could be heard asking the bouncer: “It’s just a rule? There’s no open toes?”
He responded: “Yeah, because of liability reasons. There’s a lot of open bottles, glass on the floor.
“Every night we deal with six or seven women who cut their toes, and it’s always the same thing.”
When asked if the group had offended the doorman because “you said no to us and yes to them”, he insisted they hadn’t, adding: “I’m just doing what I’m told to do.”
The footage was recorded by 65-year-old Sarah Hughes, who had stopped to talk to her daughters as they waited to go inside.
The mum says she was about leave her four daughters – who are aged 27, 32, 38 and 41 – as they reached the front of the queue when she heard the staff member stopping them.
“I think the real reason is age,” Ms Hughes said.
“Most of the people were in their late teens and early 20s. They let the very young girls in with open-toe shoes.
“They were probably panicking because I was talking to my daughters in the queue and thought I was going in with them, when I was just chatting with them until they got in.”
One of the women – the youngest in the group – later snuck inside with a separate group of friends.
Meanwhile, the other three left feeling “annoyed and very unfairly treated”.
“I’m sure it’s ageism,” Ms Hughes added.
“If you look at the queue, you can see how young they want them.
“I woke up the next day seething. We all felt annoyed and very unfairly treated.”
When The Cuban was approached for a comment, a member of staff told KentOnline: "None of us will comment on any stories."
