A hotel chain has apologised after leaving a father and his disabled son stranded following Saints' 5-0 defeat to Leicester. 

Bob Whiley, 70, had driven to the game with his 32-year-old autistic son, Thomas and planned to stay the night at a nearby Travelodge. 

But following a heavy 5-0 defeat to The Foxes, their day went from bad to worse when they were refused entry into the Market Harborough hotel. 

Bob said they arrived at the hotel shortly after midnight on April 24 only to be told it is 'company policy' that employees should have been notified beforehand that Thomas was in a wheelchair and required additional assistance.

Daily Echo:

Bob told the Echo: "I was absolutely fuming. Because Thomas uses a wheelchair, we can never really get the coach or train to away matches, so I end up driving.

“In all my years using Travelodge I’ve never experienced anything like this and the whole situation was infuriating, particularly as we’d already booked the room.”

Bob admitted that when booking the £42-pre-paid room he neglected to tick a box that would notify staff of Thomas’ disability.

The father and son duo were forced to drive back home, arriving at around 3.30am, after failed attempts to find alternative accommodation. 

The father added: "We stayed up in Ipswich and Cardiff before Leicester and I didn’t have to tick a box online and it wasn’t a problem.

“If it was going to be an issue, I think the website should be better set up to notify you, as with other sites you’re often prompted if something doesn’t look right or if you’ve missed something out.”

READ MORE: Southampton Hospital bosses respond to traffic complaints

Travelodge have since apologised for the incident, adding that the hotel "fell short of our normal high standards of customer care."

A spokesperson said: “We would like to sincerely apologise to Mr Whiley and his son for their recent experience with us. 

“We realise we should have informed Mr Whiley that the room he had booked was not available and that we would be booking a room in one of our nearby hotels that could better accommodate them.

“We have reached out to Mr Whiley and will be refunding the booking in full and offering an e-voucher for a future stay.

"We hope that we can welcome back Mr Whiley and his son and reinstate their faith in our brand.”