STAFFORDSHIRE, England, March 2 (UPI) — A KFC restaurant in England is banning customers under the age of 18 after a McDonald’s did the same a week before.
People under the age of 18 will no longer be able to enter the fast food locations in the Meir park area of Stoke-on-Trent after an altercation between a group of teens in February.
“Following ongoing issues with anti-social behavior, the police advised us to introduce a takeaway-only policy in our Meir Park restaurant for unaccompanied under 18s,” a McDonald’s spokesman told the Plymouth Herald. “Measures like this are a last resort and taken in the interests of the safety of our customers and crew. This policy is under constant review.”
According to BBC Newsbeat, the bans have come in response to a fight at a McDonald’s involving 20 teenagers and gunshots.
“The way some of these youngsters act can be scary for staff. People shouldn’t have to experience that,” KFC manager Liam Dalgarno said.
Reports have also said that large groups of young people would buy one soda in order to make use of the restaurant’s free WiFi.
Police encouraged the owners of the Meir Park McDonald’s to follow in the footsteps of a location in Plymouth by hiring a bouncer to keep customers under control.
A KFC spokesman apologized for the inconvenience the ban may cause, but said KFC restaurants have seen an improvement since the rule was put in place.
“It’s unfortunate that this is sometimes the only solution left open to us and we’re sorry that it will leave some customers disappointed,” he said. “But we have found since this has been implemented there has been a noticeable improvement in the restaurant and we have received support from the local community and customers.”
