Women were barred from a Starbucks in Saudi Arabia and told to send 'their driver' to get a coffee for them instead after religious police noticed a 'gender barrier' wall had collapsed, reports claim.

Signs in Arabic and English were put up on doors to the coffee shop telling women not to enter.

The posters read: ‘Please no entry for ladies, only send your drivers to order. Thank you.’

Banned: Women are said to have been barred from a Starbucks in Saudi Arabia and told to send 'their driver' to get a coffee for them instead (pictured) after religious police noticed a 'gender barrier' wall had collapsed

Furious: Signs in Arabic and English were put up on doors to the coffee shop. One woman who wasn't allowed into the Starbucks tweeted: '#Starbucks store in Riyadh refused 2 serve me just because I'm a WOMAN'

One woman who wasn't allowed into the Starbucks shop wrote on Twitter: ‘#Starbucks store in Riyadh refused 2 serve me just because I'm a WOMAN & asked me 2 send a man instead.’

It has been claimed that the country’s Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the most influential law enforcing authority in the Gulf Kingdom, ordered the café’s management to ban women, according to Arabic language daily 'Al Weaam'.

The commission is said to have issued the notice after its inspectors spotted the collapse of a gender-separation wall during a routine walk around a market in the capital Riyadh.

It is understood that management told police the wall had collapsed on a number of occasions because of regular customer stampedes.

Saudi Arabia is known for its gender segregation, with women requiring a male guardian approval to travel or work outside of the home.

In public spaces such as restaurants, beaches, amusement parks or banks, women are required to enter and exit through special doors.

Disgust: News of the ban drew condemnation on Twitter as a photograph of the sign spread on social media

A Starbucks spokesman told Cosmopolitan.com that the Riyadh store was undergoing a renovation to build a divide that will accommodate single people as well as families.

He denied the claims a gender-separation wall had collapsed.

In a statement the company said: ‘Starbucks in Saudi Arabia adheres to the local customs by providing separate entrances for families as well as single people.