A mother has spoken of her shock after a college demanded her daughter provide a doctor’s note to be allowed to take her lifesaving assistance dog on to the campus with her.

Devi Moore, 20, from Shadoxhurst, who is studying for her A-levels at East Kent College, in Dover, has been battling type one diabetes since she was six.

With lots of help, Devi and her mum Avril have finally raised the £6,000 needed for a diabetes alert dog.

The pair will pick up black Labrador Ollie from Service Dogs Europe in Ireland later this week.

But Mrs Moore claims the college has told Devi she will not be allowed to bring her dog onto the campus without a note from the doctors.

She said: “We were told the college couldn’t just let all 490 students on this campus bring in their pets. I’m appalled at their ignorance, I can’t believe it. It’s a breach of the disability act.

“The dog would have a jacket and harness on, with badges stating that it is a service dog and would also have the necessary paperwork to prove it.

“I then asked them if my daughter was blind would she have to provide a letter from the doctor for her dog and he said of course not.

“It seems they only have a problem with hidden disabilities. Devi was so embarrassed. I felt so sorry for her. We were being intimidated and bullied.”

Diabetes alert dogs are trained to recognise the ‘out of range’ blood sugar levels experienced by a person with type one diabetes and to alert them well before a life threatening seizure or blackout.

Devi and her mother – with the help of friends and family – raised enough money to get Ollie from the international training company, which provides assistance dogs all over the world.

Mrs Moore said: “We have been messed around on waiting lists for years and after being right back at the bottom of the pile again, we decided to source our own.

“Devi desperately wants to go to university this year and has been accepted to five different places, but she would need an alert dog to keep her safe.

“She has been very poorly and nearly died a few times.

“Her uncle died of the same thing 10 years ago, and we believe he would still be alive today if he had an alert dog.

“Ollie has been fully trained to the highest standard but because he’s not officially accredited by Assistance Dogs International (ADI), he cost £6,000 rather than £12,000.

“But the accreditation doesn’t matter, all services dogs are covered by the disability act and Devi and Ollie have rights.

“I’m bringing Ollie back on a plane and he will sit in the footwell. If he can go on a plane, why can’t he go into a college?

“The college have made everything so much more difficult for Devi and have been putting unnecessary obstacles up rather than helping her.”

East Kent College defended its decision and said their priority is student safety.

Victoria Copp-Crawley, Dover campus principal at the college, said: “We are committed to providing a welcoming, secure environment for all of our staff and students which means we have policies in place to ensure their safety.

“Assistance dogs are generally dogs that have been trained by the accredited member organisations of Assistance Dogs International (ADI) and the International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF).

“East Kent College needs to be assured that any dog coming onto one of our campuses is appropriately trained and is safe.

"I’m bringing Ollie back on a plane and he will sit in the footwell. If he can go on a plane, why can’t he go into a college?" - Avril Moore

"Our policy states that only dogs accredited by Assistance Dogs UK (ADUK) – an alliance of seven organisations – or specific international assistance dog organisations can be accommodated on campus.

“These dogs have gone through an extensive accreditation process to ensure they meet the very high standards set by ADI and IGDF.

"However, Devi Moore has sourced the dog she wishes to bring on campus from an organisation which has not been accredited so we have no way of knowing how much training the dog has had and to what standard.

“We are currently looking at ways to accommodate her needs which is why we have requested certification to enable us to understand her requirements, as well as a full risk assessment to ensure the dog’s presence does not jeopardise the safety of Devi and other users of the college’s premises.”