A mother who was told she had to pay $5 for an infant at a Hamilton movie theatre has vowed never to return to the place unless it rethinks its policy on charging an entrance fee for babies.

"They have definitely lost my business,'' Tina Stovell said. "There is no way that I will patronise them again because their policy is senseless.'' But Michael Johnson, manager of the Little Theatre, said that his establishment tried to operate in the past without requiring parents to pay for their children but it failed to work.

Mrs. Stovell went to the Little Theatre last Tuesday for a 2.15 p.m. matinee showing of The Nutty Professor.

Also with her was a one-year-old infant. When she got up to the ticket booth to buy her ticket, Mr. Johnson told her that she would have to pay $10, $5 for herself and $5 for the baby.

Mrs. Stovell said she told the man the baby was only one and that she would place the child on her lap. But the manager insisted that she pay for the child.

Mrs. Stovell, who told The Royal Gazette she had never been charged for taking a baby to the movies, said she could not believe it.

"She (the baby) cannot comprehend the movie and would not be taking up space,'' she explained. "She probably would have fallen asleep on my lap.

"I have taken my two-year-old child to the movies since he was born,'' she said. "When my husband and I want to go to a movie we usually go to a late movie so that he will sleep.

"I have taken him during the day to the Liberty Theatre and taken my stroller in and I have just held him depending on how crowded it is.'' However Mr. Johnson said the theatre's policy requires anyone who goes into a theatre to have purchased a ticket.

"We tried letting infants in but then we had the problem of determining the proper age. We've had people tell us the child will sit on their lap and not use a seat but they do not always comply.

"Most of my shows are sell-outs and I cannot stop a movie because someone is unable to find a seat.

"To avoid this we just have a flat policy. Whoever goes into the theatre must have a ticket.'' Mr. Johnson said that while he respected the right of every parent to decide what age was appropriate for their child to attend the movies, he did not feel a theatre was a good place for small children.

"It is not a place for an infant,'' he added. "In these places people are in very close quarters. There is also the issue of respect for other people if a child is crying.

"There are all kinds of potential problems with it. However our policy is not to ban infants from coming in. It only requires that anyone who comes in must have a ticket.'' BUSINESS BUC