A woman who burst into a kitchen at a Turkish takeaway and held a knife to the throat of a worker has avoided a jail sentence after a judge said he was prepared to give her another chance.

Durdane Korkmaz had been to Station Grill kebab house in Ordnance Street, Chatham, previously and was known to the owner Marem Mezhnun.

She went there again on April 15 this year and started shouting at him. He tried to stop her going into the kitchen via a sliding door, but she pushed past him.

“A colleague was working preparing salad,” prosecutor Bridget Todd told Maidstone Crown Court.

“On the counter was a large knife with an eight-inch blade. She picked it up and lunged at his colleague.

“He was extremely frightened. She placed the knife against his neck and was shouting. He acted quickly and grabbed her wrist to make her drop the knife.

“She didn’t straight away and began to struggle. She eventually moved back and dropped the knife.

When arrested, Korkmaz claimed she had no intention of harming anybody.

"She placed the knife against his neck and was shouting..." - prosecutor Bridget Todd

The 44-year-old Turkish national, of Chelmar Road, Chatham, was originally charged with attempted robbery, but her guilty plea to affray was accepted.

Craig Evans, defending, said Korkmaz had been having difficulties with her mental health. At the time of the offence she had not taken her medication for some days.

“She does have some insight now,” he added.

Jude David Griffith-Jones QC said the experience for the kebab shop workers must have been terrifying.

“Your greatest mitigation is your guilty plea,” he told Korkmaz. “It is clear you have a chronic mental health problem and you didn’t take your medication.

“I take the view the seriousness of this offence has to be marked by a sentence of imprisonment, but I am persuaded it is appropriate to give you another chance by suspending it.”

Suspending seven months imprisonment for 18 months and ordering 100 hours unpaid work, Judge Griffith-Jones said: “I very much hope your GP will take steps to re-establish contact between you and the community mental health team.

“You now know exactly where you stand. I very much hope you have learnt your lesson and we don’t see you back here.”

A restraining order was made banning Korkmaz from going to the kebab shop for five years.