A MAN who ‘trashed’ a Blackburn takeaway after getting into a row with a group of men outside has been spared jail.

Joseph Donnelly, 33, had been drinking with his then partner Laura Stewart, 26, when the row broke out outside the Oasis Fast Food Restaurant in Darwen Street, Blackburn.

Preston Crown Court heard Stewart ended up inside the takeaway attacking one of the men with kicks and punches. Thinking she had been dragged inside, Donnelly armed himself with a police-style baton and tried to get inside.

But the court heard when he discovered the door had been locked to keep him out, he smashed his way in through the glass panels. The five men then fled the restaurant, one of them picking up a knife as he ran.

Recorder David Swinnerton, sentencing, said: “Thankfully they ran. That demonstrates the dangers of how quickly things like this escalate, if and when people arm themselves as you did.”

Donnelly chased the men, then returned to the takeaway with the baton, where he smashed the counter and threw chairsaround, the court heard. Mr Swinnerton said: “None of the staff or restaurant owners had done anything wrong.”

Stewart tried to calm the situation down and took the baton from her partner. Police stopped the pair nearby and Donnelly, admitted: “I smashed the shop up. They had my girlfriend - what would you do?”

Darren Lee-Smith, defending Donnelly, said ‘the red mist came down’ and said his client barely recognised his own behaviour when he was presented with CCTV footage of the incident. Stewart and Donnelly have now separated and Stewart has started work as a carer, the court heard.

Donnelly pleaded guilty to affray, criminal damage and possession of an offensive weapon and was handed a 12 month sentence suspended for two years, with a six month curfew and £1200 compensation order. Stewart admitted affray and was handed a 12 month community order with 200 hours of unpaid work and £250 costs.

Mr Swinnerton said: “This is precisely the sort of place that is vulnerable to this sort of drunken violence. There was an argument outside between your group and a group of Asian males.

“I have no idea what that argument was about. You haven’t said, or can’t remember because you were drunk and none of their group stayed around and let the police know their perspective, but I’ve no doubt whatever it was about, drunkenness played a part in causing it and what happened next.”

Donnelly pleaded guilty to affray, criminal damage and possession of an offensive weapon and was handed a 12 month sentence suspended for two years, with a six month curfew and £1200 compensation order.

Stewart admitted affray and was handed a 12 month community order with 200 hours of unpaid work and £250 costs.