Pub calls time on bikers but provides new venue

A MOTORCYLIST has claimed discrimination after he was turned away from a Hatton pub where he has been a regular for more than 20 years.

But the owners of the Waterman in Hatton - a well known biker pub - have denied turning bikers away and say they have found an alternative site for their weekly meets at Hatton Country World.

Sydenham chef Mark Kirton was turned away from the Birmingham Road pub when he arrived there on his bike last Wednesday.

He was amazed to see barriers stopping motorcyclists entering the car park, and a policeman helping turn them away.

Mr Kirton said: “I have been discriminated against.

“I was refused entry purely on the grounds of my mode of transport: a motorcycle. It would seem that after 20 years of supporting this establishment motorcyclists are no longer welcome, although I was informed I could return home to Leamington and come back in my car wearing the same attire.”

The Waterman in Birmingham Road has been a bikers’ pub for many years, with up to 600 motorcyclists gathering on Wednesday evenings in summer.

Mr Kirton said he had never seen trouble, as most modern motorcyclists drink little while out riding. And the father-of-two said he often visited the canalside pub from the towpath while walking with his family, but will now think twice.

The Waterman is owned by Hatton Country World. A spokesman said the Waterman had developed into a restaurant, making it difficult to accommodate large meets, so the company had found bikers a new venue, using hardstanding at nearby Hatton Farm Village and laying on a bar and barbecue.

He added the pub had handed out leaflets over the past month to ensure bikers knew about the change.

He said: “This wasn’t a case of getting rid of bikers, there just wasn’t space any more. It’s not the pub it was 20 years ago.”