'Iceland denied me toilet despite terminal illness'

A terminally ill man was left in tears after being told he could not use a staff toilet in an Iceland store.

Stephen Brady, who has bladder cancer, said he felt "embarrassed and useless" after the incident in the shop in Wavertree, Liverpool.

The 63-year-old said his condition meant he had sudden, painful urges to go to the toilet, and ended up having an accident outside the shop after workers refused to let him use their facilities.

Iceland Foods said it was aware of a complaint at its Wavertree store on Wednesday and was "looking into the incident".

Stephen said: "It stops you wanting to go anywhere because if people don't know, it only takes one person to say that you can't use a toilet or something.

"It just embarrasses you, it really just embarrasses you and you feel like you're in the wrong, but this is something you can't help."

His daughter Ellie-May Brady, who was shopping with him at the time, said she had been "enraged" by the incident, adding it had been a "real setback" to Stephen's confidence.

Stephen said he was surprised by the staff's decision because he had previously used the toilet at the supermarket on Wavertree Road, where he had shopped for 15 years.

He said he had been there with Ellie-May when he felt his bladder flare up.

"I said to Ellie-May 'I think I'm going to have to go', she went 'no I'll ask the man'," he said.

One of the symptoms of his cancer is passing large quantities of blood in his urine, making the urgency to get to a toilet even greater.

Events manager Ellie-May, 23, said her dad had been "leaning against the aisle in pain" so she approached a store assistant for help.

"I said 'excuse me, could you please let my father use the toilet because he's got terminal bladder cancer, he's in excruciating pain'," she said.

"As I'm explaining this to him, he's already cutting me off saying 'no, no, no, we can't do that' being very abrupt and very rude."

Stunned by the response, she immediately asked the staff member to fetch the store manager which he agreed to do.

Ellie-May said: "The manager's come out and without letting me speak, she was like 'I spoke to the colleague and I agree, he can't use the toilet'."

She said the manager told them it was "against our rules and regulations" and added: "We don't know him".

Ellie-May said security staff had been called over and they were asked to leave the shop, with her dad in a desperate state.

"As soon as we got by the car, the blood just come down his leg and he started getting emotional and crying," she said.

"The fact that it's led him to have an accident, that's what enraged me."

Stephen said: "People were standing around outside and I thought 'oh nobody knows what I'm doing', but I do, and that's the worst thing.

"It just made me feel useless to be fair."

Speaking about her dad before his cancer diagnosis about three years ago, Ellie-May said: "He was the most bubbliest, independent person I know.

"Every morning he'd be up, he'd be walking the dog, we'd be out going the shops, we'd be doing everything."

Stephen said he tried to remain positive and was thankful for the help of his children and wider family.

But Ellie-May said: "I feel like this happening has just brought a big setback into everything now, because it's just put him right back to feeling embarrassed and feeling too insecure to go back out again."

A spokesperson for Iceland said: "Our colleagues always aim to offer the right support, and we want all customers to feel comfortable in our stores.

"We have policies in place to ensure that customers who need access to staff facilities, including toilets, are able to use them if flagged to our teams."

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.