A WOMAN was refused service at a McDonald’s drive-thru because she was on a horse.

Louise Carter said she was amused when employees at the McDonald’s restaurant on Malvern Shopping Park would not take her order.

Ms Carter, aged 48, of Collett’s Green, Powick, said the workers told her she could not buy any food because she was ‘not a car’.

However, a McDonald’s spokesman said staff were following company policy.

Ms Carter said: “They said ‘I can’t serve you, you are not a car’. I never thought I’d have some jobsworth saying that. I know I’m not a vehicle.”

The business owner rode down to the retail park because she wanted to get a takeaway during England’s World Cup semi-final on July 11.

She said: “Once you get your mind sorted on a Big Mac you have to have one.

“I thought ‘I might never do this again as I might not have the opportunity, I’m going to do this’. I try to do different things like that to get out of my comfort zone.”

Ms Carter likened her spontaneous trip to completing a ‘bucket list’ challenge.

She added: “The whole reason for it was because it was going to be so quiet on the road, that’s why I went, it was the semi-final of England.

“I was listening to the football on my phone’s radio which was in my bum bag.”

Ms Carter was slightly disappointed that the McDonald’s staff turned her away as she had just travelled three-and-a-half miles on the A449 to reach the restaurant.

However, she added that she does not want to get anyone in trouble and said the branch manager later came out and apologised to her.

The rider then went to the retail park’s Cafe Nero, where she said staff were happy to serve her.

An employee even took a photograph of her on the horse, which unfortunately urinated outside the coffee shop.

Ms Carter said shoppers had their eyes fixed on her when she arrived at the shopping park and watched nonchalantly as she trotted around the site.

She described the experience as ‘surreal’ and insisted it was a one-off.

A McDonald’s spokesman said: “Our drive-thru lanes are specifically designed for roadworthy motor vehicles only and are therefore not suitable for horses.

"Our crew advised the customer of this policy and invited them inside the restaurant.”