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More on KentOnline
A woman unleashed a tirade of racist abuse at security guards before her boyfriend repeatedly punched one unconscious.
Harley Mein, 25, told Birodh Maigar “go back to your own country” among other remarks while kicking out at him.
George Mitchell, 24, then knocked out Nur Gurung - who had rushed to his colleague’s aid - then repeatedly punched him in the face as he lay bleeding on the floor.
Mein, of Willesborough, Ashford, pleaded guilty to racially aggravated assault and Mitchell, of Lydd, was convicted of occasioning actual bodily harm after trial.
Meanwhile Mr Gurung’s mental health has seriously deteriorated and his family has “for some time wanted to leave the country” after the attacks in 2018.
Canterbury Crown Court heard Mein triggered a disturbance in the foyer of Ashford’s £14m Panorama flats, where the pair had lived.
Mr Maigar told jurors when he tried assisting Mein after a door malfunction she demanded he should pay her rent and turned violent.
“The lady came near me and kicked me and she tried to say ‘you touched me I can sue you,’” he explained from the stand.
A sound recording played in court captured the moment Mein subjected Mr Maigar to sustained and graphic racist abuse, adding: “I should knock you out and smash you in the face.”
Mitchell then punched Mr Gurung in the face, he collapsed on the floor, his attacker then rained down another four or five blows.
“Cowardly” Mitchell and Mein then fled the scene as Mr Gurung was rushed to Ashford’s William Harvey Hospital suffering a broken nose, repetitive speech and memory loss.
“Due to the cause of pain I woke up, I asked my wife ‘What happened? Everything is in pain',” he said.
Prosecutor Nick Jones described how Mr Gurung was off work with unpaid sick leave for two weeks, could not drive, felt anxious and was placed on antidepressants.
Mitchell would try convincing jurors the guards assaulted them, with Mr Gurung’s injuries caused accidentally as he defended himself.
But jurors took just one hour to convict Mitchell, who told the court he lost seven pet fish as a result of the aftermath.
Zander Goss, mitigating, said Mitchell suffered ADHD, asperger's syndrome, anxiety and panic attacks.
“He is no longer associated with Harley Mein, he is no longer living away from his family, and this is the single violent conviction he has on his record.
"I can be sure you punched Mr Gurung to the floor with a bleeding nose..."
“He has lost furniture, clothing, and seven pet fish, I’m told,” he said.
The judge, Recorder Allison Russell, labelled Mitchell’s actions a “vicious attack” and the pair "cowardly."
But she highlighted his was a “lesser role in instigation” and “used no racially offensive language, (it was) not racially motivated.
“The jury rejected your defence that you were acting in self defence, I can be sure you punched Mr Gurung to the floor with a bleeding nose.
“This was a vicious and unprovoked assault on a man who was doing a valuable security job,” she added.
Mitchell, of Skinner Road, Lydd, was handed 26 weeks custody suspended for two years and ordered to pay £1,000 compensation, with £100 a month coming from his Universal Credit allowance.
Mein, of Drummonds Road, Willseborough, Ashford, was last year handed a 12 month community order at the same court for her involvement in the ordeal.
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