Play centre staff call police after father sings 'Happy Birthday' to daughter
Published: 2013 July 15 10:25:39 (4851 Views)
Staff at a children's play centre called police when a father defied their order not to sing Happy Birthday to his young daughter during a party.
Colm Doherty was told his group was not allowed to sing the song as they had not paid for a 'birthday package'.
Despite spending £300 on food, drinks and entry fees for his daughter Cara's eighth birthday, a staff member tried to intervene as the group lit candles on a cake and began to sing.
When Mr Doherty, 47, stood in front of the receptionist to stop her from interrupting and 'upsetting' the party of 18 children she contacted police.
Officers were given CCTV footage of the incident at the Clowntown children's centre but have taken no action against Mr Doherty.
The heating engineer, who lives with his wife Marie, 49, and their six children in Cricklewood, North-West London, described the centre's actions as 'utter madness'.
Clowntown said it was 'against company policy' for people to sing Happy Birthday on the premises without having specifically booked a party.
Mrs Doherty had contacted Clowntown to enquire about booking a birthday party for 20 children and six adults but was told there was no availability.
The family decided to visit the centre in Muswell Hill anyway. After arriving they noticed two of the 'party booths' were not being used, and a female staff member said they could use one.
But the woman later told the group she was 'in fairly big trouble' for letting them use the room when they had not booked it and said they should not 'produce a cake or sing Happy Birthday'.
Mr Doherty refused, saying he was not going to let the centre 'put a downer' on his youngest child's party.
The family brought their own cake in accordance with Clowntown's policy that 'You bring the cake, we do the rest', but did not eat it on the premises.
'When the cake came out you could sense a bit of nervous tension among the staff, and one particular lady came storming down and told us that we could not sing and to put the cake away,' Mr Doherty said.
He said he stood in front of her to shield the children and told her to go away.
He added that he was left in 'shock and disbelief' by the centre's actions and said the other six parents in the group were 'fuming'.
Clowntown's manager Ian Slazenger said it is their policy that 'you don't celebrate a birthday party on our premises unless it is the package you obtain'.
He added: 'There were four other groups and we did not want them to see that people can just come in and celebrate a birthday without respecting our policy.'
Mr Slazenger claimed Mr Doherty's group was offered a birthday package but chose not to take it.
However, he admitted they spent more on entry fees and food than if they had used the birthday service, which costs between £7.50 and £15 per child.
He claimed that a staff member contacted police because Mr Doherty had displayed an 'aggressive attitude', pointed his finger at her face and took photographs of her.
Mr Doherty denies he was aggressive and said he took pictures of the woman who tried to stop the group from singing Happy Birthday so he could identify her for a subsequent complaint.
A police spokesman confirmed that officers had spoken to Mr Doherty at Clowntown, but said no formal action was taken.
- DM
Colm Doherty was told his group was not allowed to sing the song as they had not paid for a 'birthday package'.
Despite spending £300 on food, drinks and entry fees for his daughter Cara's eighth birthday, a staff member tried to intervene as the group lit candles on a cake and began to sing.
When Mr Doherty, 47, stood in front of the receptionist to stop her from interrupting and 'upsetting' the party of 18 children she contacted police.
Officers were given CCTV footage of the incident at the Clowntown children's centre but have taken no action against Mr Doherty.
The heating engineer, who lives with his wife Marie, 49, and their six children in Cricklewood, North-West London, described the centre's actions as 'utter madness'.
Clowntown said it was 'against company policy' for people to sing Happy Birthday on the premises without having specifically booked a party.
Mrs Doherty had contacted Clowntown to enquire about booking a birthday party for 20 children and six adults but was told there was no availability.
The family decided to visit the centre in Muswell Hill anyway. After arriving they noticed two of the 'party booths' were not being used, and a female staff member said they could use one.
But the woman later told the group she was 'in fairly big trouble' for letting them use the room when they had not booked it and said they should not 'produce a cake or sing Happy Birthday'.
Mr Doherty refused, saying he was not going to let the centre 'put a downer' on his youngest child's party.
The family brought their own cake in accordance with Clowntown's policy that 'You bring the cake, we do the rest', but did not eat it on the premises.
'When the cake came out you could sense a bit of nervous tension among the staff, and one particular lady came storming down and told us that we could not sing and to put the cake away,' Mr Doherty said.
He said he stood in front of her to shield the children and told her to go away.
He added that he was left in 'shock and disbelief' by the centre's actions and said the other six parents in the group were 'fuming'.
Clowntown's manager Ian Slazenger said it is their policy that 'you don't celebrate a birthday party on our premises unless it is the package you obtain'.
He added: 'There were four other groups and we did not want them to see that people can just come in and celebrate a birthday without respecting our policy.'
Mr Slazenger claimed Mr Doherty's group was offered a birthday package but chose not to take it.
However, he admitted they spent more on entry fees and food than if they had used the birthday service, which costs between £7.50 and £15 per child.
He claimed that a staff member contacted police because Mr Doherty had displayed an 'aggressive attitude', pointed his finger at her face and took photographs of her.
Mr Doherty denies he was aggressive and said he took pictures of the woman who tried to stop the group from singing Happy Birthday so he could identify her for a subsequent complaint.
A police spokesman confirmed that officers had spoken to Mr Doherty at Clowntown, but said no formal action was taken.
- DM
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