A blind woman says she faces a barrage of abuse when she goes shopping due to accidentally getting too close to people.

Linda Johnson, from Margate, says in one upsetting incident she was pushed by a shopper in Marks and Spencer at Westwood Cross for not social distancing.

She also claims she was sworn at and called "ignorant" when her guide dog Iggy led her to the door of Lloyd's Bank in Margate, instead of to the end of the queue outside.

"I can't see if there is a queue and guide dogs are trained to take you to the entrance or the door," she said.

"A queue to Iggy is nothing, it's an obstacle - she'll take me past it.

"That's when the abuse and the aggression starts."

Last week, the 46-year-old, who was made redundant from her job at Saga when the pandemic hit in March, went to her bank and Iggy took her straight to the entrance.

"Someone said 'there's a queue over there, you'll need to join it' and I was told to go along a pathway," she said.

"When you have limited or no sight, 'over there' means nothing.

"I explained that guide dogs were not taught to queue which was why I'd gone to the door and then people started having a go at me.

"Someone was moaning about how inconsiderate I am and I was called ignorant.

"Two members of staff had to come out to calm things down.

'There is so much aggression out there aimed at guide dog owners' - Linda Johnson

"I felt so anxious and uncomfortable so I just left.

"On another occasion I was in Marks and someone pushed me out of the way because I wasn't social distancing.

"I can't see how close I am to people. It's really upsetting when people react this way."

Miss Johnson says she has even been accused of having a guide dog under false pretences.

"People think you have to be completely and utterly blind to have a guide dog," she said.

"I have severely limited vision and I wear glasses, but people have no idea about visual impairment and they think this means I can see.

"They think you're either blind or you're not. But there's a spectrum of sight."

Miss Johnson says when she first started hearing about guide dog owners getting shouted at she didn't think it would happen to her.

"I couldn't believe that some people were being so awful, but then after [the first] lockdown it started happening," she said.

"There is so much aggression out there aimed at guide dog owners, it's beyond me.

"We have a guide dog for independence and freedom yet this is being taken away from us.

"We can't shop confidently, we can't go into shops because of abuse from the public.

"It's creating a lot of fear and anxiety, and it will probably stop me going out to the shops.

"I have to really psych myself up to go out these days to buy essentials.

"Shopping is now frightening and it shouldn't be."

Miss Johnson says she now avoids Sainsbury's and Tesco Extra in Westwood, but praised Marks and Spencer for going "above and beyond" to help her keep safe.

The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) says there have been many cases of blind people being confronted.

The charity is calling on the government to issue guidance to service providers and communicate to the public to be more aware of people with sight loss.

RNIB director of services David Clarke says social distancing is near-impossible for many blind and partially sighted people.

"This makes it difficult to go out and get food, exercise or attend medical appointments, while isolation is impacting people psychologically as well as practically, adding to stress," he said.

"Keeping two metres away from other people is really challenging when you have blank patches in your vision or you can’t see how far away other people are.

"Some people with sight loss have been confronted by passers-by as they have been unable to keep their distance, while others are so nervous about breaking the rules they’ve lost confidence and are unwilling to leave the house."

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