A father-of-four who staged a sit-in protest at a 24-hour McDonald’s last night has hit out at the fast food giant, accusing them of lacking respect.

David Shepherd went viral on Facebook when he was pictured sitting at the collection point of Chestfield McDonald’s, near Whitstable.

The dispute centred around missing items from his £80 food order for his family and friends, which was delivered by UberEats with drinks and fries missing.

Talking to KentOnline today, the full-time musician was scathing about the American chain and estimates his actions “cost them thousands”.

He said: “McDonald’s spend hundreds of millions on marketing and research but if they don’t listen to the customers who are giving feedback for free then what is the point?

“They would rather be stubborn and stick to their guns, letting a situation like this unravel, than just pay up for their mistake. They’re a multi-million pound company that have absolutely no respect for customers.

“They kept saying it’s our policy. Well, judging by the amount of people getting incorrect orders they must be having to replace so many meals that they can no longer afford to do so.

“The policy is designed to protect the incompetence of their staff rather than the service expected by the customers in good faith.”

The row started when David ordered seven meals for his family - including some of his children's friends - last night as a treat.

But after being told UberEats would only refund part of the order, the Herne Bay resident took matters into his own hands.

After spending hours at the restaurant - including blocking the drive-thru - the police threatened to arrest Mr Shepherd for “disturbing the peace”.

However, he claims before this an officer had tried to reason with the McDonald’s manager - but to no avail.

“I was told if I don’t move they’d have to arrest me for breaching the peace, but I was totally co-operative and they didn’t want to arrest me because it is a waste of everyone’s time,” began the 51-year-old.

“The manager would just shout over me and when I’d try and speak he’d call me aggressive and try and make me out to be the bad guy.

“In the end I just walked out, got in the car, went through the drive-thru and blocked the drive-thru.

“They called the police. Three [officers] turned up and they were very polite - they can’t show an opinion but even one of them tried to reason with the manager.

“The drive-thru was shut for about an hour; it must have cost them thousands for what could have been sorted so easily.”

Despite his hard stance on the matter, Mr Shepherd was sympathetic towards the McDonald’s workers, who he feels were let down by poor management.

He also spoke of his intention to take the matter further, with plans to discuss it with McDonald’s head office - feeling he proved his point.

Talking about the public reaction to the situation, Mr Shepherd feels it has become clear that “hundreds of customers” are getting fed up with the frequent mistakes made by the eatery.

He said: “I feel I proved a point but they’ve still not refunded me the full amount - it was an 80 quid order, and I will take it to head office.

“I feel it was a collective standpoint. It felt like hundreds of customers agreed with me and I hope that somebody actually takes notice. They have to look at the way they operate.

"I get that trainees make mistakes; everybody makes mistakes and I accept that, but it’s how we rectify those mistakes that matters.

“It’s not the staff's fault, it’s hard learning on the job and at no point did I address anyone other than the manager, whose job it is to pick them up and help them improve.

“They refunded the bits that are missing but that’s not the service I’m expecting. Goods and services are such different things and that service issue is what my complaint is.”

A police spokesman confirmed they were made aware of the dispute at about 6.45pm.

She said: "As no criminal offences were being reported, management were advised to try and resolve the matter amicably but told to call back if they have any concerns for their safety and that of their customers.

"At around 8.20pm the force received a second call reporting that a man had become aggressive.

"Patrols attended and spoke to the man, who agreed to settle the matter. No offences were reported."

McDonald's and UberEats have been contacted for comment.