A WOMAN who claims she was 'bullied' out of her local gym after losing her husband has been told she behaved inappropriately.

Maria Miller, 56, has been a frequent visitor to Wellington Sports Centre for the past 22 years, but feels she has been targeted by staff since the facility was taken over by Everyone Active.

Maria, who suffers from OCD and PTSD, has had her membership frozen and, as a result, has not been able to attend her regular classes for over four weeks.

“There’s two of them down there that bully me," she said.

“They’re not letting everyone be active.”

She believes her membership was frozen due to an incident in which she passed out during a class which took place on the year anniversary of her husband's death.

After a bad night's sleep, Maria said she was feeling cold and decided to wrap up warmer than usual for her class at Wellington Sports Centre.

“I had four layers of clothes on because it was the anniversary of my husband’s death, I was really feeling cold," she said.

“I had two coats on - because we’re in the big hall while it was being refitted - a gym top, and a hoodie.

“It was right at the end of the class that I passed out."

Despite being 'perfectly fine' following the incident, Maria was confused when her membership was frozen four weeks later.

She alleges that the gym's manager told her she needed to get an ECG scan before returning to exercising at the facility.

After getting an ECG scan which was all clear, Maria said she gave the results in writing to staff at the gym, but she has still not been allowed back inside.

However, Everyone Active staff responded by stating Maria often displayed inappropriate behaviour towards members and colleagues.

Mark Washington, contract manager, said: “We have a duty of care to our members and would like to stress that keeping them safe is our highest priority.

“If we feel there is a serious risk to a member’s health, we seek medical advice and take the necessary precautions to protect them, which may include temporarily freezing their membership.

“We are currently in dialogue with Maria's GP to agree whether it is safe for her to continue exercising. 

“However, alongside this, there have been a number of instances where Maria has displayed inappropriate behaviour towards members and colleagues.

“We are conducting a separate investigation into this and will determine the best course of action."