A racist customer has been given a suspended sentence after he threw a chicken wing at a kebab shop owner while shouting the N word at him.

Craig Longstaff, of Gloucester Road, Teignmouth, was drunk when he picked an argument with the boss of the Exmouth Kebab House and used racist language during a tirade of abuse.

He went on to threaten staff at McDonalds in Exeter after he went in drunk and waited 20 minutes for a meal after failing to use the auto-ordering system correctly.

Longstaff was subject to an earlier suspended sentence at the time but a judge at Exeter Crown Court decided not to activate it after hearing how he has been working well with probation to tackle his drink problem.

He is also awaiting a major operation which will force him to stop drinking for several months while he is recuperating.

Longstaff, aged 45, admitted two counts of threatening behaviour, one of which was racially aggravated.

He was jailed for nine months, suspended for 18 months, by Judge David Evans, who told him he would go straight to jail if there is any repeat of his behaviour.

The judge told him:"On occasions, you make other people’s lives a misery, particularly if you are drunk and annoyed. These two offences are examples of people who were just doing their jobs have to endure abuse and threats, which were racially aggravated in one case, for absolutely no good reason."

Mr Gareth Evans, prosecuting, told an earlier hearing that Longstaff went into the kebab shop in Exmouth late on January 31 this year and began to discuss a previous dispute with the owner.

Longstaff ran his finger across his neck in a cutthroat gesture and threw a chicken wing before saying ’Why would I call you a n***er, you are not even black, you are Turkish’. He then grabbed and ripped the owner’s shirt.

The incident in McDonalds in the centre of Exeter happened on April 19 when Longstaff was drunk. He thought he had placed an order automatically but had failed to pay and became angry when the food did not turn up.

He became aggressive and abusive to the woman manager and told a male member of staff he was going to kill him. The shop was busy and his behaviour was witnesses by families with children.

The staff were so worried they pressed a panic button and the manager escorted Longstaff outside, where he was arrested when police arrived.

Mr Lee Bremridge, defending, said Longstaff has made major changes to his life since the incident and is awaiting a serious operation, after which he will be nursed by his mother in Exmouth for several months.

He has completed all the work which was required by the probation service under his previous suspended sentence and received a good report for his compliance with supervision.

The earlier hearing was told that he denies being a racist but accepted using some of the language alleged.