A DUMBARTON man hurled racist abuse at staff working in a town centre takeaway after getting drunk on the day of his daughter’s christening.

George Letham called two employees at Chargrill in Church Street “P**is” and said “you P**i gangsters, you think you run the show”.

Letham, of Aitkenbar Drive, Bellsmyre, was sentenced at the town’s sheriff court on Thursday after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to a charge of acting in a racially-aggravated manner by shouting racially abusive comments.

The court heard that 35-year-old Letham entered the fast food outlet at around 7.15pm on May 12.

Fiscal depute Emma Thomson, prosecuting, said: “Two witnesses were working at the takeaway when, at around 7.15pm, the accused entered the locus, intoxicated.

“He left the locus, but then returned and began to shout ‘P**i’ at the witnesses and said ‘you think you’re f*****g P**i gangsters, you think you run the show”.

One of the workers called the police, who found Letham a short distance along Church Street, outside the sheriff court building, just before 8pm.

He was cautioned and charged at the scene, and then taken to Clydebank police office and held in custody, before appearing in court the next day.

Following his guilty plea, lodged not on his first appearance in court but at a later ‘intermediate diet’ hearing, sentence was deferred to enable the court to obtain a background report.

Letham’s solicitor told the court: “He had been attending his daughter’s christening on the day in question. He had consumed alcohol, had an argument with his wife, and then left the gathering.

“Thereafter he consumed a further quantity of alcohol, and was in such a state of intoxication that he has no recollection of these events whatsoever.

“In sobriety he is thoroughly ashamed of what he said, and is at pains to stress that the words he used do not reflect his true opinions.

“Since the commission of the offence he has been referred for alcohol counselling and is engaging well.

“He is in full-time employment and is conscious that he would lose that if a custodial sentence were to be imposed.”

Sheriff Simon Pender told Letham: “In all the circumstances, and taking account of your plea at the intermediate diet stage, I have decided that I can deal with this matter by way of a financial penalty.

“However, given your record, which is a bad one, if you fail to make any one payment, you will serve the alternative prison sentence without any further notice.”

Letham was fined £300 and ordered to pay each of the shop workers £200 in compensation.