A young woman has sparked debate online after revealing she was refused entry to a Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) restaurant because she didn't have a physical copy of her ID with her.

Lia Clark, 22, said she had been visiting Manchester's Trafford Centre when she decided to grab something to eat at the shopping centre's GBK restaurant.

However, before she could enter, Lia claims a member of staff asked her to prove she was over the age of 18.

Although she wasn't planning to buy any alcohol, Lia said she showed staff a photo of her passport stored on her phone. According to her, the employee explained that only a physical form of identification would be accepted.

Unable to provide the original document, Lia said she was refused entry to the restaurant.

Taking to TikTok afterwards, she shared her disbelief over the situation.

"I'm not being funny or nothing but is this actually real life?" she said.

"We've come to the Trafford Centre, yeah? We're trying to come in here to eat a burger. No alcohol, nothing – a chicken burger."

She went on to explain that staff had told her she needed to prove she was over 18 to enter the restaurant.

Despite being 22 years old and only intending to order food, Lia said she was still denied access because she did not have the physical version of her passport.

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