A young reveller brandished a kitchen knife at a doorman at a popular nightspot before hurling it into the street, a court heard.

John Mashatte pointed the blade at security worker Dwayne Spencer at Mu Mu in Maidstone after he was challenged for being in a restricted area during a night out.

The 22-year-old, who is from Brixton but had been staying in Rochester, had been asked to leave a closed kitchen area.

Andrew Jones, prosecuting, told Maidstone Magistrates’ Court how Mashatte swiped the knife and brandished it as he made his way upstairs to a separate part of the restaurant. There he was confronted by another doorman, Sean Swart.

Mashatte pointed the weapon at Mr Swart and told him to move out of the way, before leaving the venue and throwing the knife to the floor as he walked away.

He was heard to say: “See what happens if you touch me?”

But shortly afterwards he returned to the nightspot, where he was arrested.

It happened at about 3.45am on a Sunday morning last October.

Peter Hamill, defending, said Mashatte had been drinking and was confused as to why he had gone into the kitchen.

Upon being challenged he had panicked, the court heard, and picked up the knife because he thought he was being touched.

Mr Hamill said: “Fortunately no one was hurt and while it would be worrying to see a young man with a knife, his actions were limited to raising it at one point.

“He did the right thing and got rid of it straight away.

“He came back to the restaurant not to cause trouble but to continue his evening, which shows the level of his confusion.”

Mashatte pleaded guilty to affray and having a knife in a public place.

The court heard he had a long record, with 19 previous convictions, including assault and drugs charges, but had never been involved with knife crime before. The case was sent to crown court for sentencing at a date yet to be fixed.

A spokesman for Mu Mu said the incident happened in a closed area, away from any customers.