Fort William McDonald’s branch bans teens from entering in evening hours

A McDonald’s branch in the Highlands has banned teens from entering in the evening for the “wellbeing of staff”.

Anyone under the age of 18 will not be allowed in the Fort William branch following reports of repeated abusive behaviour from youngsters.

McDonald’s has raised the matter with police in the Lochaber town, and said they agreed this was the “best course of action”.

A statement from the Highland branch read: “Due to recent events we have had to make the decision to not allow under 18s into the store after 6pm.

“This has not been an easy choice; however, we must put the wellbeing of our staff and customers first. We will not tolerate or normalise abusive behaviour towards our staff.

“Having tried various tactics and compromises with the culprits, we are left with no choice but to make a rule that effects all young people of Fort William, based on the actions of a few.

“As the nights get colder we want to be a safe and warm place for the young people of Fort William, but we cannot do this at the cost of our safety.

“I have met with local police today and they have agreed that this is the best plan of action for us currently. We hope to revise this decision in future.”

A McDonald’s spokesperson said: “The safety and security of our people and our customers is our utmost priority, and our Fort William restaurant has introduced various measures to help mitigate the challenges of anti-social behaviour.

“This includes temporarily restricting the hours during which unaccompanied children can be served. This joint decision, alongside the Police, was not taken lightly and the restaurant team continues to work closely with groups in the local area to understand how they can be part of the solution.”