Pub chain Barracuda Group is to review its policy on hat-wearing in its CCTV pubs, after an 82-year-old woman was told to remove her hat while drinking.
Betty Wilbraham, a retired teacher, was drinking at the Hereward, a Smith & Jones pub in Ely, Cambridgeshire, when she was informed by a member of staff that her hat obscured the CCTV camera's view of her face and would have to be removed.
"I am aged in my 80s and hardly a threat to anyone," Ms Wilbraham told reporters. "I've never heard of a hatless pub. I'm of a generation who would always wear a hat for lunch. It's the first time I've ever been asked to remove it."
The incident follows a similar furore last January, when a 64-year-old man was told he would have to remove his trilby or face eviction from a Greene King pub.
Sarah Calderbank, a spokeswoman for Barracuda Group, defended the pub's decision. "The Hereward in Ely operates a policy to ask that any customer wearing a brimmed hat removes it on entering the pub," she said.
"This is in order that management may identify customers, should it be necessary, on CCTV which is installed for customers' protection and security.
"The management at The Hereward was being consistent in its approach by asking Mrs Wilbraham to remove her hat, and she was happy to oblige. The operations department is reviewing the policy and Mrs Wilbraham is welcome at the Hereward at any time in the future," she added.