Woman in Shifnal bar hat ban row

Pensioner Patricia Sheldon thought she would round off a day's Christmas shopping in the freezing cold by retiring to the warmth of a Shropshire pub and having a drink.

But she was stunned when staff at the Odfellows Inn, in Shifnal, told her to remove her expensive fur hat before they would serve her.

Mrs Sheldon refused - and on being told the pub operated a strict "no hats" policy, she and her 64-year-old husband Jim promptly left in disgust.

The couple, of Compton Road, Wolverhampton, have now vowed never to use the bar in Market Place again unless the policy is either revoked or enforced "more sensibly".

"It's absolutely ridiculous," said 60-year-old Mrs Sheldon.

"There were only two other people in the Odfellows when we went in so it's not as if they were trying to thin out the crowd.

"I love that hat. It looks very elegant and smart. Quite how it could make someone think I was some kind of hoody or would-be thug is beyond me.

"I know some pubs have policies about hats designed to weed out people who cause trouble and want to disguise themselves but surely there should be some common sense in the way they are enforced?"

Matthew Jones, manager of the Odfellows Inn, confirmed there was a "no hats" policy in place.

He said: "We can't just stipulate the ban applies to everyone except middle-aged women. We can't differentiate on style grounds, either."