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| Will Footitt (l) & Ben Hayman (r) |
They had each consumed approximately ten pints of beer while enjoying the Twickenham international against Japan last year, Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court was told.
One member of staff was dragged across the fast food counter while called a : “F***ing Paki,” by the two ringleaders, the court heard.
Father and son Martin Hayman, 61, and Ben Hayman, 29, of Fallowfield, Warmley, Bristol, have both pleaded not guilty to affray at Burger King, London Road, Twickenham on November 17, last year.
Will Footitt, 29, of Bath Road, Bridge Yate, Bristol has also pleaded not guilty to affray and along with Ben to the racially aggravated assault of Parvat Bishwakarma.
Footitt has pleaded guilty to simply assaulting Mr. Bishwakarma without the racial element, a charge Ben denies.
Martin Hayman has also pleaded not guilty to assaulting Burger King customer Ciara Wilszur, who says he pushed her.
Prosecutor Mr. Roger Daniells-Smith told the jury: “This father and son and a friend were part of a large group from the West Country who attended the England v Japan rugby match.
“They were in Burger King at 10pm, which was closing time and had all consumed approximately ten pints each during the day.
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| Martin Hayman |
“The wife of Martin, Ben’s mother was physically sick at their table into a Burger King bag and then Ben and Footitt began pounding on the locked toilet door, demanding it be opened.
“It was out of order and the two defendants said: ‘We’ll piss on the floor, we’ll piss in the bins.’
“Staff did open the door for them and when the defendants came out they entered through a ‘Staff Only’ door and started terrorising the staff.
“They noticed the ethnicity of the staff and shouted: ‘We’re immigration. Where are your papers?’ and then claimed they were new members of staff,” explained Mr. Daniells-Smith.
“Ben climbed onto the counter and was horsing around and Footitt noticed a member of staff, Mr. Bishwakarma, who was mopping up and started filming in his face.
“He was shouting: ‘Health and Safety, Health and Safety,’ and Mr. Bishwakarma lost his cool and grabs for the phone.
“Footitt and Ben drag him across the counter and onto the floor and Ben holds him down. While they were dragging him they were shouting: ‘Paki, Paki.’
“For the first time Ben’s father Martin shows and interest and pushes members of the public, including customer Ciara Wilszur, while shouting: ‘You f***ing bitch.’”
JD Wetherspoon manager Ms Wilszur told the jury she was 90% sure the staff member was called: “F***ing Paki,” adding: “It was both of them punching.”
The defendants insist they were doing nothing more aggressive then singing rugby anthem ‘Swing Low Sweet Chariot’ at their table before the trouble started and never uttered racist insults or claimed to be immigration.
“There was a lady being sick in a bag and they were being loud and rowdy,” said Ms Wilszur. “The two younger guys were louder than the rest and said they wanted to use the toilet.
“They said they would use the bins and that they were immigration and tried to get into the kitchen and it escalated really quickly.
“The larger one pulled one of the workers over the counter and held him down and then he was punching him.
“It was quite distressing to watch and an older man in the group blocked my path and pushed me and called me a :’F***ing bitch.’
“The two younger ones were fighting with the worker they pulled over the counter. It was two big guys and one small man.”
However, after watching CCTV Ms Wilszur agreed with the defence the member of staff appeared to be held down rather than punched.
Trial continues………..
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