A man and woman from Douglas have been fined by a court for affray outside McDonald’s fast food restaurant on Peel Road.
Craig Paul Murphy, aged 25, and Chelsea Leigh Morgan, aged 23, both of Ballabrooie Grove, both pleaded guilty to the charge.
Murphy was fined £800 and ordered to pay £300 to a security guard at McDonald’s whom he punched. He was also ordered to pay £50 court costs. Morgan was fined £750 and also ordered to pay £50 court costs.
Deputy High Bailiff Jayne Hughes said: ‘It is a sad endorsement of society that restaurants such as McDonald’s need security officers.
‘This violence resulted in the security guard receiving a fractured nose. One of your references refers to you as “really nice and honest people”.
‘On this occasion your general character went out of the window.’
The court heard how, on September 27 at 3.15am Murphy and Morgan were involved in a verbal altercation with security staff at McDonald’s.
Murphy was said to have tried to hit a member of staff but was pulled outside.
Outside Murphy exchanged blows with one of the security guards who was said to have suffered a fractured nose due to the altercation.
Morgan was said to have been verbally abusive and to have slapped security staff during the row.
Her advocate, Stephen Wood, entered a basis of plea on Morgan’s behalf which stated that she slapped out a number of times but did not use her handbag to do so, which had been initially alleged.
Mr Wood told the court: ‘My client is a young woman who has, on this occasion, acted completely and utterly out of character. Perhaps the root of her behaviour was the situation between her partner and security staff.
‘She wrongly felt she had to step in to assist her partner. She was pushed into the doors of the restaurant forcibly.
‘Outside she misguidedly got involved in the fracas. She accepts her actions were inappropriate and she is deeply remorseful.
‘She has learnt from it and won’t be repeating the same mistake.’
Defending Murphy in court, his advocate Pamela Pringle said: ‘My client acknowledges he ought to have left the incident. It was totally out of character.
‘The bouncers insulted his girlfriend and her friend. He should have walked off and written a letter of complaint to the manager of McDonald’s.’
Ms Pringle described Murphy as a ‘hardworking young man’ and said that he had been in his job for 10 years.
The Deputy High Bailiff concluded, saying: ‘I hope not to see you again before this court.’