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A restaurant kicked me out because of my facial disfigurement – they claimed customers had filed complaints about me

A man was thrown out of a restaurant after staff claimed his facial disfigurement had led to complaints from customers.

Oliver Bromley, who has neurofibromatosis type 1, a condition in which benign tumours grow on his nerves, was asked to leave the restaurant in Camberwell, south London, in August.

Mr Bromley was a patient at King’s College Hospital when the incident occurred. After receiving treatment, he decided to go to the restaurant – which he did not want to name – for a bite to eat.

When Mr Bromley saw that the restaurant only accepted cash, he left to withdraw some money. However, when he returned, staff told him to “please leave” because they said he was “scaring the customers”.

Mr Bromley told the BBC: ‘There wasn’t enough time between when I first went there and when I went back for a complaint to be made about me, so it’s clear that the restaurant staff weren’t happy with my appearance.’

Oliver Bromley (pictured), who has neurofibromatosis type 1, which causes benign tumours to grow on his nerves, was asked to leave the restaurant in Camberwell, south London, in August

Oliver Bromley (pictured), who has neurofibromatosis type 1, which causes benign tumours to grow on his nerves, was asked to leave the restaurant in Camberwell, south London, in August

The comment, which he took “very personally”, made Mr Bromley very angry, but he did not confront the employee and decided to leave.

He has since filed a complaint with the restaurant and reported the incident to the Metropolitan Police.

Mr Bromley says he doesn’t mind people asking questions about his condition and believes the incident was due to a lack of education.

He said, ‘They probably thought tumors were contagious or something.’

Now he wants to try to turn the terrible incident into ‘something good’ by raising awareness for people with facial abnormalities.

He added: ‘It’s not about me. It’s never been about me.’

Karen Cockburn, director of charity Nerve tumors UKsaid: ‘We were extremely disappointed to hear the news of the terrible, but sadly not unusual, incident that Oliver Bromley experienced while trying to buy lunch.

Mr Bromley says he doesn't mind people asking about his condition and believes the incident is due to a lack of education. He said: 'They probably thought having tumours was contagious or something'

Mr Bromley says he doesn’t mind people asking about his condition and believes the incident is due to a lack of education. He said: ‘They probably thought having tumours was contagious or something’

‘We work tirelessly to raise awareness of the condition and the work we do to help patients, and to educate the general public about the condition.

‘We have written to both the restaurant in question and to UK Hospitality, the trade association.

‘While we have not yet received a response from the restaurant, I am pleased to inform you that UK Hospitality has offered to work with us to raise awareness of the condition in the hospitality industry. I will be in discussions with them shortly to start this partnership.’

In a statement, the Met Police told MailOnline: ‘Police were called at 7.20pm on Wednesday 21 August to reports of a discrimination incident in Camberwell.

A man in his 40s stated that he was denied service at a local restaurant due to a facial disfigurement related to his medical condition.

‘Officers arrived on scene and spoke with the victim. No arrests were made.

“We take reports of hate crime seriously and record all cases, regardless of whether they pass the threshold to be classified as a crime or not.”

WHAT IS NF1 NEUROFIBROMATOSIS?

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a rare genetic disorder that affects approximately one in 3,000 people worldwide.

It is also known as von Recklinghausen disease and the is caused by a mutation in a person’s NF-1 gene.

This gene regulates a protein that plays a role in cell growth and is thought to be a tumor suppressor. The tumors that grow can be either cancerous or non-cancerous.

In addition to tumors, neurofibromatosis can also cause an abnormally large head, short stature, heart problems, seizures, and learning disabilities.

Most people with the disease have a normal life expectancy.

Although the disease can run in families, 30 to 50 percent of people who have the disease have no family history.

Neurofibromatosis is usually present at birth, but can develop at any age, with tumors growing at varying rates.

Early symptoms include flat, brown moles and bumpy growths.

Cases can range from mild to severe, with small sporadic tumors appearing in various places on the body, to extreme cases where hundreds or thousands of growths appear across the body.

Source: NIH; National Organization for Rare Disorders

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