Navy ID fails to sway pub
7:29am Fri Jul 16, 2010
A sailor on home leave in Newark was refused a drink in a town-centre pub because he did not have the right proof of age on him.
Don King, 31, who is stationed in Portsmouth, was asked for his ID when he went with friends to The Old Post Office on Kirkgate, Newark, to watch one of the England World Cup games.
He said there were a lot of students in the pub and so staff were asking all customers for their ID.
He had gone out without his driving licence which he would normally use but produced his Royal Navy ID that contains personal details including his date of birth and photograph.
But he was told that it was not acceptable and so he could not be served.
He said: “I was more shocked than anything else. I know it is accepted in other places as it is an official document but they weren’t having it.”
His girlfriend’s father, Mr Stephen Scott, of Belvoir Crescent, Newark, said he was very angry when he heard what had happened.
He has written to the MP for Newark, Mr Patrick Mercer, to ask why the Royal Navy ID card was not good enough for Newark yet was good enough to send Servicemen to a war zone.
He said: “They risk all for us and all this town does is deny them service.
“The ID card he showed is an official document and should have been good enough for them.”
A spokesman for the pub said that it was their policy that the only acceptable ID was a passport or driving licence.
He said that if neither was available then the customer would not be served alcohol.
The licensing officer for Newark and Sherwood, Mr Paul Inman, said he supported the pub’s policy.
He said that some people used fake ID and if the acceptable forms were restricted it made it easier for staff to check whether they were fake or not to try to stamp out underage drinking.
He said that because pub staff would rarely see ID from any of the Armed Forces it made it difficult for them to say whether it was genuine or not.
By DMH
Having had significant experience in the field, including training Door Supervisors, it would appear that all those involve need better training to bring them in line with SIA policy. All official forms of photo ID should be acceptable and the staff should be able to recognise them. I wonder if the licensing officer would accept the staff refusing entry to the Police or Council Officials as they don't often see Warrant Cards or Council ID cards and so couldn't be expected to know if they were genuine?
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