A woman with diabetes has been awarded £2,000 after staff at a concert confiscated her fizzy drink.
Kayla Hanna, 20, had been walking into a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert in Belfast in August 2016 when the incident happened.
She said she always carried Lucozade to ensure she could quickly top up her blood sugar level when she needed to.
The student, who has type 1 diabetes, had just arrived for the gig at Boucher Road playing fields when her bottle was confiscated.
Despite showing staff from Eventsec her diabetes tattoo and insulin pack, they removed the drink, saying they had a strict policy and could not allow her to take it inside the venue.
Hanna said she then felt anxious and upset during the concert. “I stood away from the area near the stage where my friends were because I was afraid something would happen to me and I would not have the Lucozade. This had never happened me at other concerts I went to,” she said.
“I really hope that, now this issue has been brought to light, it won’t happen again to me or other people who live with diabetes.”
Hanna contacted the Equality Commission, which supported her to bring a case before Belfast county court alleging a breach of the Disability Discrimination Act.
The court made a finding of discrimination and the judge, Philip Gilpin, said Eventsec had failed to provide a reasonable adjustment to its policy of not allowing liquids to be brought into the concert.
Mary Kitson, the senior legal officer at the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, said the act was there to ensure people with disabilities were not denied access to services.
“In this case, the company should have made arrangements to ensure Kayla could have accessed Lucozade during the concert if needed; for example, by directing her to its own medical centre at the venue and providing her with a bottle,” she said.
“That would have been a simple adjustment and would have met her medical needs. The court has ruled this was a breach of the law and awarded Kayla £2,000.”