A mother is furious after she was prevented from breast-feeding her baby in a store's changing room.

Staff at Zara, a clothing shop in Oxford's Clarendon Centre, told mother-of-two Jenny Hall that she would not be able to feed her eight-week-old son Owen while she was shopping.

The clothing chain's head office has now said that mothers can breast feed on the shop floor if they wish, but last week Ms Hall was shocked to hear managers suggest she go to a nearby fast-food restaurant to feed her baby.

The 25-year-old was on the second floor of Zara looking at clothes for her 19-month-old daughter Megan when she realised Owen needed a feed.

She said: "I was buying some clothes for my daughter, which I didn't end up buying, and Owen needed feeding and I thought I'd do that quickly and keep him going."

But when she asked staff if she could use the changing room, they said they did not know why, but it was not permitted. Ms Hall, of Hailey Road, Witney, said: "The upstairs changing rooms were empty, it was only me on that floor, and she said you can go and feed your baby in McDonalds.

"The fact is that they are selling baby clothes and I just think that women, if they need to feed their babies, should be able to.

"It has never been an issue anywhere else, that's why I was quite taken aback it has just been breast feeding awareness week as well."

Store manager Alicia Thomas, who spoke to Ms Hall, said the upstairs changing rooms were not suitable for breast-feeding mothers.

She said: "There are only two changing rooms upstairs and it is freezing because of the air conditioning so I don't think it would be very comfortable for her and the baby. She could have done it downstairs because there are 20 changing rooms there."

Ms Thomas admitted she had not explained that to Ms Hall because she had only found out later that breast feeding was allowed. She said breast feeding mothers would be told they could use the downstairs changing rooms, or even an office, in future.

The manager denied suggesting McDonalds, but said it had been one of many stores she had named after Ms Hall asked if Zara had any toilets.

Mike Shearwood, managing director of Zara UK, said managers at all their stores would be reminded of company policy immediately.

He added: "Although we are unable to provide separate breast feeding or baby changing facilities, we are more than happy to allow mothers to breast feed in the sitting room cubicles or even provide a seat on the shop floor if they want that. If it doesn't bother the mother, it is not an issue for us."