A SHOP worker who felled a suspected crisp thief with a kick to the head during a confrontation in Bradford’s Centenary Square has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Kickboxer Shahabadin Simani, 21, was caught on CCTV footage lashing out with his foot after he had chased the alleged thief during an incident in the early evening of August 4 this year.

Simani’s victim collapsed to the ground unconscious and Bradford Crown Court heard the man suffered a bleed on the brain and spent a month in a Leeds hospital after the attack.

The brain injury was said to have impacted the complainant’s thought process, speech, and behaviour at the time, but the man had failed to provide the prosecution with an updated victim impact statement.

Prosecutor Victoria Barker said there had been a background to the incident with the complainant being banned from the convenience store where Simani worked.

But she said the man continued to attend at the premises and had caused a nuisance.

Miss Barker said on the evening of the incident the complainant had attended again with a group of other males and after Simani told him to leave the man grabbed a packet of crisps and ran off.

“He began eating the crisps outside the store while laughing and it was at that stage that the defendant chased him,” said Miss Barker.

After felling the complainant with the kick Simani remained at the scene and tried to assist his victim as a number of people gathered around waiting for police officers to arrive.

Simani admitted to officers that he had kicked the man, but said he thought the complainant had turned round to punch him.

The court heard that Simani, of Sawrey Place, Bradford, had no previous convictions, and at an earlier court hearing he pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Recorder Catherine Silverton said the complainant had suffered a grave injury and whatever the background was Simani was not entitled to take matters into his own hands.

“You, a kickboxer, approached him and kicked him once. He fell to the floor unconscious,” said Recorder Silverton.

She said it didn’t matter if Simani intended to kick his shoulder or his head and it was to his credit that he tried to assist the complainant.

“Having seen your conduct on the footage I’m satisfied you immediately regretted your actions and you did not intend to cause him the harm he sustained,” said the judge.

“The offence is aggravated by the fact that you are a kickboxer so one kick from you is more serious than it would be from most people.

“However it was only one kick and I take into account both the extreme provocation and the fact that you went back immediately and stayed to help the complainant.”

Recorder Silverton said there were several mitigating factors in the case including Simani’s genuine remorse, his previous positive character, and the fact that he spent three months in custody on remand.

“I have read a lot about you. I’m satisfied this act was wholly out of character,” she told Simani.

The judge suspended Simani’s 12-month prison sentence for 18 months and ordered him to comply with 25 rehabilitation activity requirement days.