Mcdonald's and KFC ban under 18s from dining in due to anti-social behaviour

No under 18s will be allowed to dine in at some McDonald's and KFC restaurants without being accompanied by adults. This is reportedly due to a ban introduced by the two restaurants in a bid to crack down on anti-social behaviour.

The new rule comes after a fight broke out in a McDonald's in the Meir Park area of Stoke-on-Trent in England a few days ago that involved twenty teenagers, resulting in eight of them being arrested.

One parent, who's teenagers were expelled from KFC in Canvey Island, Essex, challenged the ban, saying it's not only under 18s who cause trouble.

"I understand completely if they were causing mayhem throwing food around or if it was a pub and they'd tried to get food, but it's a family restaurant. My girls are not disruptive, their behaviour is excellent and they know better than to get involved in nonsense. KFC was happy to take their money, and only told them they couldn't stay after paying. I'm sure there can be troublemakers aged in their 20s and 30s - do they have a rule for that?" she was quoted as saying in mirror.co.uk.

However, in a statement released by KFC to Newsbeat, the restaurant said that since the introduction of the ban, it has seen improvements and received support from the local community.

"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. 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," it said.

McDonald's also released a statement to the publication. 

"We always want to ensure that our staff and customers have an enjoyable experience in our restaurants. We therefore take a zero tolerance approach when a concern is raised relating to anti-social behaviour. The few restaurants in question have regrettably experienced recent issues with antisocial behaviour and, in consultation with local police, temporary restrictions are in place for the time being. This is not a nationwide ban and additional measures apply to restaurants experiencing ongoing problems," it said.

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