Diabetic man barred from nightclub

A Diabetic man was barred from entering Destiny nightclub in Watford because he was carrying a life-saving insulin pen .
Richard Harris, 19, from Northwood, arrived at the popular nightspot with a group of friends who were celebrating their last evening out together before leaving for university .
But when Richard tried to bring his pen which he needs in case he suffers a fit into the club, the door staff refused him entry.
“It was pretty embarrassing. The whole of the queue behind me found out that I was diabetic. I was humiliated and very angry,” Richard said.
Richard left the queue for Destiny but then decided to return as his friends were inside and he did not want to leave them. He explained the importance of his insulin pen to the bouncers who promised that if he needed the pen they would immediately be able to provide him with it.
“When I came out of the club, though, it took them ten to 15 minutes to find my insulin. A lot of people are allergic to things and carry pens and if anything goes wrong they need them straight away,” Richard explained.
“I think the bouncers at Destiny were on a power trip. This has never happened in any of the other clubs I have been to. I see this as discrimination.”
“Customer searching is a very important part of our business, both to support customer safety and support our policy of a zero-tolerance approach to illegal drugs,” Steve Dennis, director of Luminar Leisure who owns Destiny, said.
“We would want to help and support this young man but we would have reservations about a hypodermic needle syringe being lost by him, found within the venue and used as a potential weapon. We put it somewhere where it was secure, safe and could be retrieved as quickly as possible,” Steve Dennis said.