Restaurant in sign row

Police have had to step in to warn the owners of the Moza in Askern that they could be breaking the law.

But the proprietors are standing by their decision, to the anger of the travelling fraternity.

The premises on High Street recently underwent a 120,000 refurbishment and before the official opening last week an advertising banner was placed above the doorway which stated, “No Travellers Allowed”.

It was spotted by a furious Jim Welch, a caravan site owner from Moss, who acts as a spokesman for the travelling community.

He said: “This is totally illegal and is racial discrimination. They’re not allowed to do that and I contacted the police straightaway.

“I’ve been going there for years without any trouble and all of a sudden they try to ban all travellers. Owners of premises can only ban individuals, not racial groups.”

PC Andy Baker, Doncaster police’s gypsy liaison officer, visited the Moza and asked them to obscure the offending notice.

“I have spoken to them and they have agreed to comply with the law. I have said we will be paying the premises visits to reassure them about potential trouble.

“In terms of public order it did constitute a racially inflammatory sign.”

A spokesman for the Moza said they had had previous trouble with members of the traveller community before the refurbishment but they had agreed to take the offending words off the sign.

“We don’t want to lose our good customers if we have trouble with the travellers. They won’t be welcome in our restaurant.”