A drunk man slapped a stranger around the face and hurled abuse at a gay woman, a court heard.

Vijay Kumar-Ram spotted a man and a woman sitting on a bench near the Superdrug store in St George's Street, Canterbury, and went over and told the man to stop smoking.

Kumar-Ram then swiped the cigarette out of his hand and assaulted him, while also aiming nasty comments at the woman.

Medway magistrates also heard how a month later the 38-year-old stole £150 worth of meat from a Co-op in Gravesend.

But Kumar-Ram - who is previously from the Gravesend area, but is now living in Edward Road, Canterbury - avoided being sent to prison when he appeared in court on Monday.

Describing the incident in the city centre on July 22, prosecutor Sidumiso Moyo said: “He saw the two victims sitting on a bench outside Superdrug and asked the man to stop smoking and then took the cigarette out of his hand.

“He then asked the woman if she was a boy or a girl and when she replied it didn’t matter, he told her she looked like a boy and then hit the man with both hands on the bottom of his face.”

Ms Moyo said the woman had been disgusted with Kumar-Ram’s comments as she felt discriminated against as she was gay.

When the police were called, Kumar-Ram then started shouting homophobic abuse as officers were arresting him.

Medway Magistrates’ Court heard he was later charged with assault by beating and threatening behaviour and was bailed to attend court at a later date.

However, Kumar-Ram’s offending didn’t stop there, as on August 20, he and another man went into the Co-op in East Milton Road, Gravesend, and swiped various meat products worth £150.

Ms Moyo said: “He was with another man in the Co-op and took meat items and put them in a black bag and attempted to leave, but was challenged by a member of staff.

“The bag was wrestled out of the member of staff’s hands and he and the other man left without paying for the items.”

Kumar-Ram was arrested the next day and while in custody, was given a drug test which proved positive.

He was then charged with shoplifting and bailed again and told he must attend a drug assessment in Gravesend on August 30 to determine if he was an addict.

However, Kumar-Ram failed to show up for the appointment and was later charged in relation to that offence too.

When he appeared before District Judge William Nelson on October 16, he admitted all four offences.

Judge Nelson heard Kumar-Ram was heavily convicted and was on a community order he’d been given for other public order offences when he committed the latest offences.

The court was told he had started drinking when he was a teenager and dabbled in drugs on occasions, but barely remembered any of the incidents as he had been drunk.

However, the judge was also told Kumar-Ram would soon be starting a medicated detox programme to stop his drinking and was sorry for his actions.

Judge Nelson said: “Frankly, your history is really bad and you are a problem for the community you live in.

“Your consumption of alcohol turns you into a very unpleasant man indeed.”

However, the judge noted there appeared to be a change in his behaviour now and that he was attending appointments and he was starting his journey to stop drinking, so he decided he wasn’t going to interfere with the community order he was on.

He jailed Kumar-Ram for 26 weeks for the offences but suspended the term for 12 months.

Kumar-Ram was also ordered to pay the woman he insulted and the man that he assaulted £100 compensation each.