Two teenagers chased a man into an Aberdeen Nando’s and battered him in front of terrified diners.
The teens, both 17 and who cannot be named for legal reasons because of their age, admitted their involvement in the vicious assault at the Union Square chicken restaurant.
The older of the two, along with an unidentified person, chased the man into the branch before pushing him to the ground and punching him.
And the younger boy then also became involved, kicking and stamping on their victim in front of stunned customers.
Fiscal depute David Rodger told Aberdeen Sheriff Court that, around 7.30pm on January 3, a male ran into the Nando’s outlet while being “chased” by the older boy, along with an unidentified male.
The older teen and the unidentified party then pushed the man to the ground at the rear of the restaurant, near the tills, and punched him as he lay on the floor.
The younger of the two teens then kicked and stamped on the man’s head and body before police were contacted.
In a separate incident during the evening of December 5, both teens were in Aberdeen city centre “causing annoyance to members of the public”.
Around 5pm they were seen assaulting a male who had been lying on a bench near the St Nicholas Kirk graveyard on Union Street.
The teenagers first threw items at the man, then punched him.
‘Under the influence of alcohol’
And when the man tried to leave, they followed him to Market Street and kicked him to the head while he was lying in a doorway and challenged him to fight.
In another earlier incident, on November 15, the older of the two boys vandalised the playground on the roof of the St Nicholas Centre by removing a fireman’s pole and attempting to throw a bin into the nearby graveyard.
Both teens, of Aberdeen, pled guilty to assault and assault to injury, while the older one also admitted a charge of vandalism.
Solicitor Kevin Longino, representing the younger boy, said the offences had come “during a period of significant problems in his life”.
He added the boy was “under the influence of alcohol” and was not “coping” with other issues in his life.
Sheriff Lesley Johnston followed the recommendation of a court-ordered social work report and remitted the case to the Children’s Hearing to be dealt with.
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