Racist woman laughed as she bottled man in early morning Drapery McDonalds attack

Emily Godfrey, 24, admitted GBH without intent and a racially aggravated public order offence after the shocking incident at a Northampton McDonald's on May 13 last year.

On Wednesday (September 11) Northampton Crown Court heard Godfrey, of Nightingale Lane, Wellingborough, had been on a night out and went to the Drapery fast food outlet at about 4.15am.

The young mother was showing a group of people something on her phone when a man took it off her and put it in his coat pocket.

Godfrey asked for the phone back before, after some shoving and pushing, she held a bottle by its neck and hit the man in the face in an incident caught on CCTV.

Prosecuting, Richard Thatcher said: "The defendant goes back to her own table, goes to her handbag and is seen to remove something.

"She is laughing as she walks up to the complainant. She tries to check his pocket.

"He tried to stop her and she punched him and then swiped him with the bottle."

The court heard the victim suffered a 2.5cm long laceration to his lip and a 1cm deep laceration to his jaw and needed stitches. The cut to his lip is likely to leave scarring.

When police arrived Godfrey told them her phone had been stolen and gave them her number.

When an officer called it the phone was no longer in the possession of the group she accused.

She went back into the McDonald's where she was pointed out as the person responsible for assault.

She was arrested and restrained but as she was marched out she shouted vile racist abuse.

Godfrey wiped tears from her face in the dock as she was sentenced by judge Rebecca Crane, who said her language was "completely inappropriate, unacceptable and offensive".

But the judge said: "I consider it is not necessary to impose a custodial sentence."

Godfrey was handed a 12-month community order with 30 days of rehabilitation requirements.