A FACTORY which employs blind people has been slammed by one of its workers because bosses will not let him take his guide dog into the main canteen.

The management of General Welfare of the Blind Products told Malcolm Matthews, 55, he has to sit in a separate room if he wants to eat lunch next to faithful labrador Ben.

Mr Matthews, of Winchelsea Road, Tottenham, said he has been made to feel like "a leper" at the bedding goods firm.

Ben stays in a kennel on site while Mr Matthews is on the production floor and the pair are reunited during lunch and tea breaks.

Fellow diners objected to Ben's presence on health and safety grounds and bosses told Mr Matthews that he would have to eat outside or in an adjoining rest room if he wanted to be with the dog.

Mr Matthews, who suffers from eye disease macula degeneration, told the Independent: "They have made me feel isolated and victimised just because I am a guide dog owner."

Mr Matthews worked for 20 years at the company's factory in Islington where many staff brought dogs to work and into the canteen.

When he was transferred to his present workplace in Holloway Road recently he discovered he was the only one to bring a guide dog in.

Mr Matthews wrote to MP Bernie Grant and the Department for Employment and Education for advice and was told he might have a case against his employer for discrimination.

But company boss Graham Robinson defended his policy and claimed he had made ''great efforts" to accommodate Mr Matthews.

Mr Robinson said: "I can confirm there is no way Malcolm is being discriminated against and, in fact, great efforts have been put into making arrangements for Malcolm and his dog during break periods which should be more than acceptable to both Malcolm and his fellow employees."

He added that the company has the support of the Guide Dogs Association and the National League of

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