A YOUNG boy with autism has been left traumatised after seeing a "very graphic" pornographic video which had been left playing on one of the children's tablets at a city McDonald's.

Martin White took his seven-year-old son for lunch at the McDonald's in Hylton Road, Worcester, last Saturday and while they were waiting for their food, they sat at one of the tables with a children's tablet attached.

Mr White said that he heard a mum, who was sitting on the next table with two young children and their dad, gasp in shock and when he saw what had alarmed her he realised that the extreme video was playing on the tablet in front of his son.

He said: “We were totally disgusted. This is still affecting my son, who is autistic – he keeps saying he is having nightmares and keeps bringing up the video.”

Mr White, from St John’s, added: “The father on the next table immediately went over to the counter and reported the incident. A few minutes had passed, and the video was still playing, and no one had come over to the tablets.

“I went up to the counter and found that the staff were amused by the whole thing – they were giggling behind the counter.

"I demanded to see the manager who eventually arrived and all he could say was that it should not have happened.”

A McDonald’s spokesman said: “We have strict controls in place to ensure our tablets are family friendly, which includes only using apps that have appropriate ratings and internet content filtering.

“We are concerned to hear about this customer’s experience and as soon it was brought to the attention of the restaurant, the business manager immediately apologised and followed the correct procedures to remove the content.

“We understand that the customer is currently in contact with our customer services team.”

Mr White, aged 53, added: “I want to know how this can happen on a child’s device and how McDonald’s don’t have measures in place to stop this from happening.

“There were kids everywhere. How in this day and age can someone gain access to a child’s tablet that is on public view and display items of this nature, in McDonald’s of all places?”

Police received a report after the incident, which took place on Saturday, February 22 at 2.30pm, and officers have contacted the manager to offer advice.

The control measures the fast food restaurant have in place include clearing the tablet’s cache after two minutes of activity to protect the user's identity and remove their profile.

McDonald's also controls the apps that are downloaded so they are approved by Mums.net and have appropriate ratings on Google Play store.

Internet content is filtered through the wi-fi that blocks inappropriate content and is up to Mums.net standards.

Dining area staff are also trained to clean and press the logout button when not in use.

McDonald's customer service team sent Mr White the following message: “Firstly we would like to apologise for what took place on your last visit, we acknowledge and understand how upsetting and inappropriate it was.

“The restaurant manager extends his sincerest apologies. I apologise that you felt our staff were not supportive in dealing with the situation. There is nothing humorous about the situation. That kind of behaviour is not representative of our brand or values.

“After further communication with the restaurant they will put forth more regular checks on the tablets, taking extra care and ensuring there’s not a repeat of what happened to yourself.”