Landlady of Compass Inn in Winsor bans issues total ban on under-12s after 'feral kids' caused havoc at Sunday lunchtime

A PUB landlady who made headlines when she banned kids from her New Forest pub apart from Sunday lunchtimes has now barred them completely.

Mop Draper of the Compass Inn, in Winsor, told the A&T she had made the decision after a family with three children under five caused "complete havoc" at the weekend.

She said: “The children were jumping up and down on chairs, literally screeching. It was the kind of noise that goes straight through you.

“We were packed because it was Father’s Day. The parents did nothing to stop them, even after I had a polite word.

“It ruined everyone else’s lunch. I had to move one table away from them because the noise was so unbearable.”

“The kids were just feral.”

Ms Draper had previously announced that under-12s were no longer welcome at the village pub – which prides itself on being gluten free – last September apart from on Sundays.

Her announcement sparked a huge online debate and was reported by media across the globe.

But the landlady, who has been in charge for 26 years, said she had been thinking of making the pub completely child-free "for a few months".

She said: “It’s been building up. There have been a few incidents of badly behaved children.

“The thing is, we are a very tiny pub and if kids are running around and being noisy it's horrid for everyone.

“A lot of my staff are as old as me, and trying to serve someone in those circumstances is difficult, it puts you on edge and makes you very nervy.

“Often, like as in this case, when you politely ask them to control their children you get abuse back.”

“On this Sunday one of my regular customers who comes in three to four times a week said she wouldn’t come back again on a Sunday.

"I don’t want to lose customers like her, so I had no choice, as far as I was concerned."

After posting on Facebook her announcement about children under 12 no longer being allowed at the pub she received more than 1,200 comments.

She said: “Many have been supportive but there have been some really vile ones as well. We have also received some awful emails.

“What I don’t understand is that I can walk to 11 other pubs from mine, all of which take children.”

“I do feel sorry for the boys and girls who have coeliac and need to be gluten-free. It's sad that others have spoilt it for them.”

The family involved in Sunday’s incident later gave The Compass Inn a one-star review on online reviewing site TripAdvisor stating: “I’m sad to say it was clear that staff weren't huge fans of young children. We noticed a scowl at one point and felt they couldn't get us out quick enough.”

Regulars at the pub have been quick to support Ms Draper, with one saying: “Well done, I wish there were more places like this.”

Another said: “I wish others would follow suit until more families drop their right of entitlement to behave exactly as they wish in public.” Another added: “They’re a pub, not a crèche.”

But others disagreed: “How can you discriminate against age based on the experience of others? It’s like barring all men because you experience some football hooligans. Surely the management have training on how to deal with anyone acting unsociable if it's an adult, or child.”