Mother told to stop breastfeeding baby in swimming pool because lifeguard found it 'offensive' Sophie Howes, 27, was swimming with eight-month-old Connie in Ashford She started breastfeeding baby at the side of the pool but was told to move Midwife says she was 'embarrassed' and 'humiliated' by the request Anger: Sophia Howes was stopped from breastfeeding her eight-month-old daughter Connie at a swimming pool in Kent A midwife has spoken out after she was told to stop breastfeeding in a public swimming pool because the lifeguard thought it was 'offensive'. Sophie Howes was swimming with her eight-month-old daughter Connie at a leisure centre in Ashford, Kent, when the baby started to get restless. The 27-year-old mother of two sat on the steps of the learner pool and began to feed her daughter - only to be asked to move by the manager of the facility. Ms Howes said she would go to the side of the pool after being told that the lifeguard was 'offended', but the manager instead requested that she finish the feed in the changing room. The midwife today said that she had been 'embarrassed' and 'humiliated' by the incident last Saturday, which bosses at the Stour Centre later blamed on health and safety regulations. 'At the time I was embarrassed because I didn't know who else could hear what she was saying,' Ms Howes said. I felt humiliated and she made me feel like I was doing something wrong. Afterwards, when I remembered her saying my breastfeeding was offensive, I was really angry. 'This hasn't made me reluctant to breastfeed in public and if I go back to the pool I will still breastfeed there, but some women would have been put off by being treated like this.' The manager of the centre claims that CCTV footage shows Ms Howes breastfeeding Connie while the baby's head was level with the water in the pool. But the mother said: 'It is irrelevant whether I was in the water or not because that is not what the staff member said to me to begin with. 'She didn't mention health and safety issues, she just said one of her colleagues had been offended by me breastfeeding.' Family: Ms Howes, a midwife, with her daughter Connie and her mother Virginia Howes, also a midwife Miss Howes's mother Virginia, who also works as a midwife, accused the centre of discriminating against nursing mothers. 'It is discrimination to ask a woman to move on account of the fact she is breastfeeding,' she said. The word offensive was used several times both at the Stour Centre and when my daughter spoke to a member of staff on the phone afterwards. 'It's 2013, for goodness' sake - you see more body walking around the streets! My daughter is very discreet. I want a public apology and assurance that the Stour Centre has a policy in place to protect breastfeeding mothers - not discriminate against them. Stour Centre manager Kim Walters said: 'At the centre we have regular users who breastfeed in the cafe, so breastfeeding is widely accepted. This is the first time breastfeeding has taken place in the pool environment and I stress that the only reason the mother was asked to move was purely down to the feed taking place in the water. We have apologised to the mother involved if some unfortunate words were used in conversation and will ensure all staff are fully aware and trained accordingly. Ms Howes said she would go to the side of the pool after being told that the lifeguard was 'offended', but the manager instead requested that she finish the feed in the changing room The manager of the centre claims that CCTV footage shows Ms Howes breastfeeding Connie while the baby's head was level with the water in the pool Apology: Bosses at the Stour Centre in Ashford have said sorry to Ms Howes for the incident last Saturday Emma Wood, chief executive of Ashford Leisure Trust which runs the centre, has now apologised to Ms Howes and claims the company supports the right to breastfeed. 'Ashford Leisure Trust fully supports breastfeeding at all its sites and understands the legal rights of mothers to do this,' she said. On this occasion it was believed there was a legitimate health and safety risk - i.e. feeding actually taking place while both the mother and baby were in the water, and a suitable alternative area just a couple of metres away was suggested. We do of course apologise for any upset caused. The staff were concerned for the health and welfare of the baby. It may be that this concern was misplaced due to a misunderstanding of the situation, but it was not intended to discriminate against the mother.