A new mum was left stunned and embarrassed after she was told she could not breastfeed her baby by Greggs staff.

Rebecca Reeve, 23, and her partner were horrified when workers at the Westwood Cross branch in Thanet informed her she was not allowed to feed her five-month-old in the bakery.

Instead, she says she was told to go to a public toilet or use a bench outside by unsympathetic staff, who repeatedly told her it was Greggs policy.

But the firm has confirmed to KentOnline that this is not company policy, the store staff’s instructions were not correct and customers are “welcome” to breastfeed in the chain’s branches.

The mum-of-one explained: “My partner went and got a table with the baby at the front of the store, and I queued up to get food.

“I said to the server ‘I'm eating in because I need to breastfeed my baby, is that OK?’.

“I didn’t mean ‘is that OK for the breastfeeding?’, I meant ‘is that OK that we eat in for that reason?’.

“He went round the back and another member of staff, who was a man, came round and said, ‘I'm really sorry, you're not allowed to breastfeed your baby in here’.

“I then saw a female member of staff and asked again, and the woman said ‘no’.

“I’m not a confrontational person. I thought ‘I'm not going to argue with him’, but it made me so angry.

“There was no empathy when we then phoned up after it happened.

“It’s really put me off breastfeeding in public.”

It is illegal to ask anyone breastfeeding their child to leave a public place, such as a cafe, shop or public transport.

Following the incident, Miss Reeve took her child to the nearby M&S store, where she was able to breastfeed her baby, commending the staff there for their excellent attitude.

After informing her mum about the ordeal, she shared what had happened on social media, prompting hundreds of comments in support.

While efforts to talk to managers at the Westwood Cross store proved fruitless, Miss Reeve says she has now been issued a full apology from the firm’s head office.

It is understood she was reassured the stance of the staff was incorrect, and all branches will receive a reminder of the law surrounding breastfeeding.

“Greggs have admitted that they made an error and it is being dealt with,” she said.

“From what I can gather, the investigation started last night with senior members of staff and it's gone down to branch level this morning.”

A mass protest of breastfeeding mums was planned to take place at Greggs this weekend in support of Miss Reeve.

A Greggs spokesperson said: “Customers are welcome to breastfeed in our shops.

“We have been in close contact with the customer and are working with our shop teams as a matter of urgency to ensure this does not happen again.”