A man has claimed he was refused tap water to take his medication, instead being asked to pay £1 for bottled water.
Jonathan White says he asked a female bartender for a glass of water in the Clock Hotel Pub in Hebburn, North Tyneside, and was repeatedly told he had to pay.
The 25-year-old recorded a video, in which you can hear him asking the woman if she’s refusing him water ‘even though I’ve got a medical condition’ on June 15.
The blonde barmaid can be heard responding ‘if you’ve got a medical condition, you’ve got to go home.’
After Jonathan insists that he needs water to take his antidepressants, she then says ‘you can tape us as much as you like’ before appearing to swipe at his phone.
Jonathan says he was ‘shocked and upset, and already vulnerable’ and immediately reported the incident to Northumbria Police, who are now asking for anyone with any information to get in touch.
He said:
I was anxious and scared. She wasn’t supposed to be charging us anyway for tap water. When I raised this with her, she made me feel really vulnerable.
I was made to feel stupid and insecure around her. Shaun thought she was nasty. I even told her that I’d bought two pints, and then she hit me.
I couldn’t see why she wouldn’t just pour me a glass of water for my medication.
Jonathan said he was surprised he was being charged £1 for tap water, and claims that he brought only two pints’ worth of cash with him.
He said he doesn’t own a contactless debit card, and his American Express card wasn’t working.
A spokesperson for Northumbria Police said:
Shortly before 10pm, June 15, police received a report of an assault at the Clock Hotel, Hebburn.
Enquiries are ongoing and anyone with any information is asked to contact police by calling 101 and quoting reference number 1217 15/06/19.
The Clock Hotel is yet to comment on the incident.
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Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Journalist who started her career by producing The Royal Rosemurgey newspaper in 2004, which kept her family up to date with the goings on of her sleepy north east village. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining Tyla (formerly Pretty 52) in 2017, and progressing onto UNILAD in 2019.