A MUM has hit out at a decision by the McDonald's restaurant at Turnhouse Road in Dunfermline not to permit young people to sit in and dine after 7 pm.

The restaurant has decided to ban unaccompanied youngsters under the age of 18 from being served in the restaurant due to "anti-social behaviour affecting the wider area".

As a result of this new rule, Lynsey Orellana's three sons were unable to dine at the restaurant on Saturday (July 29).

She told the Press: "My children, aged 15, 11 and seven walked to McDonald's where they were advised by the security guard that there is a new policy in place where only 18 and overs can eat in the restaurant after 7 pm.

"This policy is apparently only in place for the summer holidays and then it will return to normal."

After being told that they would not be allowed to eat inside the restaurant, Lynsey's children called her to explain the situation.

She called the store only to be met with a "very rude and not at all empathetic" response from a manager at the store.

She continued: "The rationale for the policy was due to an increase in abuse from youngsters.

"My children were advised that they were permitted to eat outside. However, with it being a miserable rainy evening this was not ideal, especially not an enjoyable meal which they were expecting.

"I personally have a few issues with this. Firstly, they have not made this policy public.

"I am also upset at the fact that a family-friendly restaurant feels that it is acceptable to implement such a blanket approach banning children who are one of their biggest customer base.

"I wonder what Ronald McDonald would make of it!"

Lynsey believes that this policy should be implemented on a case-by-case basis and not as a blanket ban on all children.

But McDonald's fees that this is a necessary measure to protect their staff and customers.

A McDonald's spokesperson said: "The safety and security of our people and our customers is our utmost priority, and our Dunfermline Turnstone Road restaurant has introduced various measures to help mitigate the challenges of anti-social behaviour affecting the wider area.

"These include employing security guards, investing in CCTV and temporarily restricting the hours during which unaccompanied children can be served.

"This decision was not taken lightly, and the team continues to work closely with the police and other local businesses to understand how they can be part of the solution."