A FORMER Leeds United Academy footballer has been given a suspended prison sentence after taking a meat cleaver and a knife into a Weymouth fast food shop.

Kieran Joseph Phelan, 23, of Douglas Road, Weymouth, admitted two charges of possessing bladed articles, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and affray before his appearance at Dorchester Crown Court.

Prosecutor Clifford Grier told Judge Harvey Clark that Phelan had gone into the Weymouth Kebab House in Westham Road shortly after 10pm on June 1 and asked for free food.

Mr Grier said staff refused and Phelan left in an ‘irritable state of mind.’ The court heard Phelan returned around 10 minutes later brandishing a meat cleaver and a kitchen knife and appeared to strike a car’s wing mirror on his way back to the shop.

Mr Grier said a group of four youths, witnessing Phelan’s behaviour, ‘took sanctuary’ in the fast food shop.

The court heard Phelan entered the shop and was racially abusive to and swearing at the staff.

Mr Grier said Phelan was ‘waving the cleaver and knife around using a slashing motion’ and said he would cut himself before slashing at his own face with the blades and making himself bleed.

Mr Grier said the shop’s proprietor, Jacqueline Baysan, then intervened trying to calm Phelan down before pushing him out of the door and locking it.

The court heard Mrs Baysan suffered a cut to her hand during the exchange.

Judge Harvey said Mrs Baysan had ‘acted with great calmness and great courage and deserves a commendation for that'.

Mr Grier said Phelan was later arrested by the police who seized the cleaver and the knife.

The court was also shown CCTV footage of the incident.

Nicholas Robinson, mitigating, said this was a ‘very sad and tragic’ case.

Mr Robinson said Phelan moved to Weymouth two years ago from Barnsley, Yorkshire with his now ex-partner with whom he has a 21-month old daughter.

The court heard Phelan’s relationship with his partner had ended ‘in very acrimonious terms’ and he had begun to consume ‘excessive amounts of alcohol.’