A 21-year-old man has been jailed for two and a half years for beating up a customer in a takeaway restaurant.

Waheed Khan punched Jonathon Rowley to the floor and kicked him in the face, breaking his left cheekbone, in a sustained attack in the Euro Chicken in Killinghall Road, Undercliffe, Bradford, on March 14 last year.

Khan, of Ellerton Street, Barkerend, Bradford, was convicted by a jury last month of unlawful wounding.

Sentencing him yesterday, Judge John Potter told him: “The red mist descended upon you and you lost your self-control.”

Prosecutor Andrew Kershaw told Bradford Crown Court that Khan set upon Mr Rowley, a middle aged man waiting to be served at the takeaway in the afternoon, because he took exception to him speaking to two young women in the queue.

As well as a fractured cheekbone, needing corrective surgery, Mr Rowley suffered a suspected broken arm and other facial injuries.

He was detained in hospital for several days and a metal plate was inserted into his face to lift up the damaged bone structure.

Mr Kershaw said Khan returned to the DIY shop opposite the takeaway, where he was working at the time, and was arrested there shortly after the attack.

He was aggressive towards police officers and said he acted in self-defence.

In mitigation, Rebecca Young, Khan’s barrister, said he was over protective towards one of the girls, who was a relative.

Khan had shown remorse for his actions when interviewed by his probation officer for a report.

He was a hard working man, both at the DIY shop and on a college plumbing course.

Until this conviction, he had never been in trouble with the law.

But Judge Potter said Khan’s not guilty plea meant that Mr Rowley had to be cross-examined in court in front of the jury.

The girls in the shop told Khan to stop the “sustained attack” but he did not.