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A blind student was left in tears when she was refused service in a Tesco supermarket - for bringing her guide dog inside.

Maya Makri, a student at London's Central School of Speech and Drama, was buying groceries at the supermarket in Belsize Road near Swiss Cottage on Monday.

But when she approached the checkout with her friend and her dog, a cashier shouted “pets are not allowed”.

Despite the obvious high-viz guide-dog jacket worn by the black Labrador, named Jemma, Ms Makri said staff would not acknowledge the animal was not a pet.

The other two cashiers apparently joined in and said there were "no exceptions”, before being told she could stay for the time being but could not return to the store in future.

Was just told to leave because of my #guidedog @Tesco Express in SwissCottage. I am truly disgusted as this is happening repeatedly Pls RT — Maya Makri (@mayamakri) October 13, 2014

Ms Makri, 39, said: “I pointed out that this was no pet, but a guide dog. This should have been immediately obvious from the dog's high-viz harness and fluorescent guide dog label on the lead.

She added: “I repeatedly said that I was registered blind and that this was a trained assistance dog, to no avail.

“Various customers tried to back me up, but we were shouted down. I burst into tears outside the store in sheer frustration.

“A woman followed me all the way to South Hampstead station, just to say how terribly upset she was about what she had just witnessed and that this had to be challenged.”

Ms Makri, who previously worked as a conference interpreter and at the University of Leeds, said it was the latest in a series of difficulties she has faced since moving to the capital to study in September.

She also struggled to join her local gym and has been refused access to restaurants because of the dog.

Ms Makri, of Queen's Park, said Jemma, who has been in her care for six years, helps her become an "active member of society" and has been a lifeline since moving to London.

She added: “I went up to Leeds to do some teaching at the university yesterday and I truly dreaded coming back to London. This is not what I expected from our metropolis.”

A Tesco spokesman said: "This clearly should never have happened and we will contact Ms Makri directly to apologise. We do allow guide dogs in stores and have reminded colleagues of that. We also offer customers with guide dogs help with their shopping, if they would like assistance."

Last year a report released by charity Guide Dogs found people with guide dogs were increasingly being refused access to shops, transport, cafes and other venues. The charity said they were receiving more complaints from blind people struggling to access venues.