TWO men who bloodily beat another man with chairs and a broken bottle in a Bradford city centre branch of Greggs have been jailed.

Rahan Ali and Umar Khalil’s violent attack on their victim on April 7, 2023, which lasted around 15 minutes, was witnessed by other customers, including children, and caught on CCTV.

Both men have now been given prison terms, and Khalil, who is also a registered sex offender, has been banned from two separate Greggs shops, from The Broadway shopping centre, and Forster Square Retail Park.

Sentencing the duo at Bradford Crown Court His Honour Judge Colin Burn described it as “a pretty violent incident” in which chairs were thrown, and a bottle was smashed.

However, he made the point that the “notable injuries” were actually suffered by Ali.

Prosecutor Emma Handley told the court how a member of the public saw “a large altercation” taking place in the Greggs branch on Broadway involving at least four men at 9.55am.

The eyewitness, who called the police, said those involved were breaking up chairs and using the legs to hit one another. They also fought using broken glass bottles.

Miss Handley said: “He estimated the fight went on for 10 to 15 minutes, and that there was blood all over.”

Footage captured by CCTV cameras showed Ali and Khalil picking up the chairs and throwing them at the victim who similarly armed himself by picking up a broken chair leg.

He swung it at Ali, connecting twice with his head leaving him “dazed” and suffering facial injuries.

He continued to hit Ali before leaving.

Ali and Khalil were arrested shortly afterwards with Ali needing hospital treatment.

In an interview with police Ali denied guilt and said he and Khalil had been getting food when the victim made “a cheeky remark” and “gave them attitude”.

He said Khalil had a bottle, which he threatened to smash over the victim’s head before chasing him and hitting him. He accepted that the CCTV showed him [Ali] throwing a chair.

Khalil gave a “no comment” interview.

Both men, who appeared in court via video link from HMP Leeds, later pleaded guilty to affray.

The court heard that Khalil was a registered sex offender following a conviction for sexual assault in 2022 and was subject to notification requirements for five years.

Miss Handley said Khalil had failed to formally notify the police of his whereabouts on two occasions, claiming he had “forgotten”.

Khalil was also charged with theft of electrical items from the Currys store at Forster Square in January this year as he was homeless and “needed the money”.

Ali, a drug addict, also pleaded guilty to four counts of theft of electrical items from Boots in The Broadway and from Asda at the Owlcotes Shopping Centre in Pudsey between February and July this year.

He said he could not remember stealing “as he steals a lot” to fund his drug habit and to pay off debts.

Mitigating for Ali, Gerald Hendron said he appeared to have come off worse in the Greggs incident sustaining “significant wounds” to his face and the back of his head.

He said his shoplifting offending was to help feed his drug addiction.

Mitigating for Khalil, Ayman Khokhar said his offending had begun following the breakdown of his marriage, which coincided with using hard drugs as a coping mechanism that had also led to psychosis.

Referring to the thefts he said: “He knows it was wrong. He wanted to obtain his next fix.”

Of the affray, he said Khalil went to the aid of Ali but that it went “far beyond the protection of another” and “evolved into gratuitous violence”.

Ali, 39, of Sunrise Close, Bradford, was sentenced to a total of 13 months imprisonment.

Khalil, 38, of no fixed abode, was sentenced to a total of 11 months imprisonment. He was also made the subject of a Criminal Behaviour Order banning him from entering branches of Greggs in Broadway and on Bank Street in Bradford city centre as well as The Broadway itself and Forster Square Retail Park.

The ban will last for five years.