A BRIDE-to-be said she was left in tears after being invited to feed her 13-week-old baby in a disabled toilet at the Cumberland Hotel in Bournemouth.

The hotel has blamed a “misunderstanding” for the disagreement.

Emily Ellis and her fiancé, Dan Smith, have since cancelled plans to hold their wedding reception at the venue. The couple, who are due to get married on July 1, were at the hotel with their son Presley to pay the final payment of their £2,500 wedding package. Miss Ellis said: “We were told there was nobody able to take our money so we were asked to wait.

“We were there for ages and I needed to feed Presley. I asked if I could I go into the restaurant to feed my baby and the receptionist said it would not be appropriate in a public area.”

Miss Ellis said the receptionist invited her to use a disabled toilet.

The 26-year-old said: “I was shocked that it came from a woman. I was upset by it. When we were on our way home I had a cry.”

When the couple complained to the hotel they were told the receptionist was new.

Miss Ellis said: “We sat down and spoke about it but I didn’t think that was a good enough excuse. We cancelled the booking and are now frantically searching for another venue.”

In a statement, the Cumberland Hotel said its staff were “devastated” by the “misunderstanding”.

The statement said the hotel has “always supported breast feeding in all public areas” and try to provide a private facility when requested.

It continued: “The incident in question occurred when a new member of staff was asked by the customer if there was anywhere she could breastfeed her baby. At the time all public areas were occupied and the member of staff assumed that the guest was requesting a private facility.

“For this reason, she referred the guest to our disabled restroom, which contains a comfortable armchair for breast feeding, and baby changing facilities.”

The Equality Act 2010 made it an offence to treat a woman unfavourably because she is breastfeeding. That includes refusing to provide a service, providing a lower standard of service or providing a service on different terms.