Customer used kebab to smash Covid screen at takeaway after hour-plus wait

AN angry man shattered a takeaway Covid screen with his kebab after waiting more than an hour for his food.

Matthew Donnan had placed an order at a Derby food outlet, where he was a regular customer, at around 1am, on January 30.

Derby Crown Court heard he grew frustrated as it took more than an hour before it was delivered cold.

The 30-year-old, who had been drinking, complained on the phone before shouting racial abuse. He then visited the store, demanding the manager look at his food before throwing his cold kebab at a Covid screen, shattering it.

He appeared at court on Tuesday, charged with criminal damage and unrelated counts of affray and possessing an offensive weapon.

Handing Donnan, of Gerard Street, Derby, a 10-month sentence suspended for a year, Recorder Michelle Heeley QC said: “What troubles me is that you were released on bail and then you committed this criminal damage, a stupid action.

“To your credit you have put your hands up straight away. You have made some genuine efforts to move away from your old lifestyle. There are now circumstances that allow me to suspend this sentence. Moving out of the area, keeping your head down, are all to your credit. This is a chance that you are being offered, a chance to really prove to yourself that you have really changed your life.”

The prosecutor also told the court how, in an unrelated matter on July 10, 2019, the defendant was with friends in

Derby’s Regent Street when he got involved in a confrontation.

He then entered his former accommodation and came out with a knife, which led to the charges of affray and possession of an offensive weapon. Donnan said to police at the time that he had planned to plead guilty at magistrates court, which he did.

William Bennett, mitigating, said told the court those involved in the confrontation were also involved in an incident that saw Donnan stabbed three weeks earlier.

He also said the defendant, who was joined by his mother and partner in court, had taken steps to improve his life after struggles with homelessness and cannabis. He said these included lessening his dependencies on drugs and alcohol, and was now unrecognisable from the man he was at the time of his offending.

He said: “The defendant was leading a chaotic lifestyle. He has some mental health problems. He was drinking to excess everyday. He was also smoking quote a lot of cannabis. As a result of that, he had been making some very bad decisions. Before he was drinking to excess, whereas now he can go two or three weeks without having a drink. He accepts his behaviour was yobbish.”

Donnan was given a four-month sentence for affray, and a consecutive six-month sentence for the possession of an offensive weapon, suspended for a year. He was given a one-month concurrent sentence for the criminal damage. He was also ordered to attend a 30-day programme aimed at addressing his drug and alcohol issues. He will be subject to a curfew for the next 12 weeks from 7pm to 6am, and must pay a victim surcharge.