A Broughty Ferry restaurant boss has apologised after a disabled customer was injured when the venue’s toilet collapsed under her.
The woman, who uses a wheelchair, had been visiting Papa Jacques in Brook Street with friends when she went to use the toilet.
She was left lying on the floor in a puddle of water after the bowl fell away from the wall. As she tried to pull herself up from the ground using the sink, it also came away from the wall, landing on her arm.
Restaurant owner Mike Mackay refused to comment to The Courier about the incident but met the woman and her mother on Friday morning and apologised for the ordeal.
The woman’s friend Shan Shankland posted on Facebook following the incident on Thursday night: “Honestly, I’m shocked.
“Out for a few drinks with my friend (who is in a wheelchair), in Papa Jacques Broughty Ferry, she nips to the loo.
“As she’s sitting on the toilet, the toilet falls away from the wall leaving her lying on the floor unable to move in a pool of toilet water.
“What a joke. Pub should be ashamed of themselves.”
Shan’s post was shared more than 200 times on Facebook and attracted hundreds of comments.
It also led to claims – denied by the restaurant – that staff had laughed about the incident.
It is alleged that this in turn led to threats being directed to staff members via social media.
The woman who fell, who The Courier has chosen not to name, posted: “I’m doing OK, just in shock and embarrassed.
“Very lucky I was mobile enough to get back in my chair, could’ve been much worse for someone who had less mobility.”
Following a meeting with Mr Mackay on Friday, Shan wrote: “We had an appointment this morning with the manager.
“She has accepted their apology and between them, they have rectified the situation.”
And she added that any staff members who had been threatened should contact the police.
The restaurant posted on its own Facebook page: “We met with the customer involved in the accident in the toilet yesterday.
“We discussed what happened, we apologised for the embarrassment caused and hopefully resolved the issue.
“The toilet has been inspected and no obvious faults found, however will get disabled toilet checked over by the local council disability officer in an effort to make sure this can’t happen again.”
The statement added: “As for the issue around staff laughing at the customer, this just did not happen.
“After checking that the customer was OK, the staff made sure no pipes had broken, the staff member then went back to the table to again check on things.
“Both girls were having a lighthearted laugh to themselves about the incident, trying to make the best of a bad situation, no doubt.
“Our young staff member did have a laugh with the girls while they went through what happened. While this was maybe not the best course of action, she was laughing with the girls, not at them.
“I would hope this clarifies a little of what happened, and hopefully the threats being made against staff members can now stop, our staff were only doing a job, and didn’t mean to offend or cause embarrassment to anyone.”
