A furious row sparked by mistaken identity has led to a prominent businessman being banned by a town centre Wetherspoon’s.

Boot fair boss Mark Greenfield, 60, has made a formal complaint to the low-cost pub chain after he and 71-year-old mate Keith Meredith were wrongly accused of taking drugs.

The men had just sat down in the beer garden of The Thomas Waghorn in Chatham when they were confronted by the duty manager.

He said: “We had about a mouthful of beer when we suddenly looked at each other and could smell cannabis or something along those lines. We both said how disgusting it was. The smell was awful.

“Then after a few minutes, the manager came out with a colleague and said we had to go because two of her staff said we have been smoking drugs. I told her she had to be joking.

“It caused a commotion. I looked around and she stole our pints. I told her she had it wrong, I am a respected guy.”

Mark, who runs a popular boot fair in Upper Upnor, says things then escalated when Keith, who is recovering from a triple heart bypass, was told he had form for taking drugs in the boozer

The manager said he had been spotted sitting at a table and rolling a joint the previous day – despite the fact he says this was his first-ever visit to the hostelry.

The dumbfounded duo were then accused of smoking cannabis in the garden area but both say they do not smoke and do not do drugs.

“That was the icing on the cake,” Mr Greenfield added. “She said ‘I want you to leave’ and I said ‘we had done nothing wrong’ but we left for our own safety after other customers started to get involved. She marched us to the gate and we left.”

Mr Greenfield phoned the Railway Street pub when he got home last Friday afternoon to complain and was told by the manager her staff had made a mistake.

“What do you mean it was a mistake? The embarrassment of it all, it was absolutely ridiculous. I thought this is just too much,” the dad-of-three fumed.

“It was like something from Jeremy Beadle. I just could not believe it. When she came across, it was so unexpected.

“It was embarrassing, there was other people in the garden, everyone was looking. It was just totally embarrassing.

“For me I am a local businessman, I run car boot fairs, I know hundreds and hundreds of people and to have people think Mark Greenfield got escorted out of a pub because he was accused of taking drugs is just absolutely too much.

“I am a father, what parent would want that, to have their children think their father got escorted out of a pub? It is absolutely ridiculous.

“I just thought it was wrong. I was fuming. I wanted to take my mate out for a little treat after his triple heart bypass and then we had that.

“I have never experienced anything like this in my life before, it is absolutely disgusting.”

Mr Meredith, who’d been looking forward to the lunchtime pint, said: “I want an apology. It is the first time I have been in the place and we get escorted out and accused. It upset my stomach. It really upset me.”

Both men said the manager should have checked the CCTV before wrongly accusing them.

Mr Greenfield added: “All I was doing was bringing Keith out for an hour or so to give him a bit of pleasure and get him out of his flat. I would like her to know how much it upset both of us.”

A Wetherspoon spokesman admitted the pair were wrongly identified, saying: “We have a zero-tolerance approach to drug use and any customer who we believe may have been using drugs will be immediately asked to leave.

“Unfortunately, Mr Greenfield was wrongly identified as having been using cannabis. It was only afterwards it became clear he had been wrongly identified. Mr Greenfield subsequently phoned the pub to discuss the incident.

“The duty manager apologised for the error but unfortunately he became personally abusive to her, in light of the comments made, he was asked not to return to the pub.”

In Mr Greenfield’s formal complaint, he said: “I do not wish to enter your establishment ever again after the way we were treated.

“If your manageress implies I was abusive she is more than correct. I would like to add I was absolutely fuming of being accused of taking drugs on the premises, without her having any evidence and no I will not be apologising for my actions.

“Anyone would have done exactly the same and you should put yourself in my situation.”