A shamed Walkden bride who spent her wedding night in police cells after a racially fuelled bust up with staff at Manchester’s Hilton Hotel wept as she walked free from court today.
Mother of four Kirsty Bigland, 30, who was still in her white wedding dress was said to have shouted ‘fucking monkeys and Paki bastard’ when a card payment was refused as she and her husband Nick, 25, tried to check into their room.
Staff ushered the newlyweds out of the four star Hilton Hotel on Deansgate due to their foul mouthed behaviour but Kirsty began running at security staff swearing and spitting.
During attempts to restrain her, she shouted ‘get off me you black Paki bastard,’ then attempted to punch one member of staff and spat on his shirt and jacket before yelled: “Fuck you Paki bastard you should not be in this country.”
Nick stood in the way of a barrier so cars could not leave and eventually had to be pinned down by security staff after he shouted: “Come on you knob heads I will knock you out.”
Police arrived at the £300 a night hotel – a favourite of Premiership footballers and rock stars – and carted away both bride and groom to a nearby police station where they spent the night in neighbouring cells until 7pm the following day.
At Manchester magistrates court Kirsty from Walkden, Salford, admitted racially aggravated assault upon hotel doorman Mustapha Muhssen and was given a 20 weeks jail suspended for 12 months.
She was ordered to complete 150 hours unpaid work, pay the victim £150 compensation plus £250 prosecution costs.
Nick who pleaded guilty to disorderly behaviour at an earlier hearing failed to turn up for sentencing and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
District judge Mark Hadfield told Kirsty: ”You accept you said to the guard, ‘fuck you you fucking Paki bastard you shouldn’t be in this country’. You proceeded to spit into the guard’s face and proceeded to punch him to the chest.
”When he was seen to restrain you, you kicked him. I simply don’t accept you don’t remember using racial language or spitting in his face. It seems clear to me that the incident did commence as a result of Mr Bigland’s behaviour and they were forced to deal with him.
”You became involved using particularly racist language and then assaulted him. Those who indulge in racially aggravated behaviour must expect to be punished. It’s a very serious offence and a repeated assault on a gentleman – not only a punch but kicking and spitting in his face.
”It occurred in the hotel reception then spilled outside. It was very late at night, you are not willing to concede that you were intoxicated, I expect drink played a part.”
At an earlier hearing the court heard how the incident occurred on May 31 after the couple married and had their reception in the city centre.
After the function, they were due to book into the Hilton at 11pm for their wedding night as customers were queuing outside a lift to go to the trendy Cloud 23 bar on the 23rd floor of hotel building.
However the abuse began when the couple tried to use a friend’s credit card that got denied.
Prosecutor Miss Ruth Mann told the earlier hearing: “A member of reception staff was dealing with the couple. At first he could not locate the booking and when he did find it the credit card was then denied. Payment was required before the room could be allocated.
”The receptionist then heard Nicholas refer to another member of staff as a ‘fucking idiot.’ The defendant was using his mobile phone at the time and swearing to who he was talking to.
“Kirsty was heard saying ‘fucking monkeys’ then ‘fucking Pakis.’ He took this remark as a reference to the ethnicity of himself and colleagues and the couple were not allowed to remain in the hotel due to their behaviour.
“Security staff arrived so the hotel receptionists could deal with other guests. But one heard Kirsty using the term ‘Paki Bastards’ toward the staff and they were moved to the forecourt.
“Nicholas was heard to say ‘come on you knob heads, I will knock you out.” He was obstructing a barrier for cars to leave and had to be removed from it.”
Miss Mann said: ”Kirsty ran at the staff swearing and spitting at them. Nicholas then made comments that he would assault them if they touched his wife.
“He was pinned down and stopped from hitting anyone. Kirsty ran towards the staff. They stopped her and she said ‘get off me your Paki bastard.’ She attempted to punch him and spat on his shirt and jacket.
“A witness heard the defendant say ‘fuck you Paki bastard you should not be in this country.’ The defendant clearly most responsible here is Kirsty Bigland.”
Today the court heard the security guard had wanted to drop the assault complaint as it was the Biglands’ wedding night.
He said his injuries had been ‘very minor’ and dismissed the incident as ‘name calling, picking out differences in my appearance like calling someone fat’.
Kirsty’s lawyer John Wolfson said: ”She accepts the facts but she can’t recall everything. She had something to drink and she’d had a very happy day, described as ‘bridal bliss’. They turned up at the hotel, but her husband had been drinking heavily.
”When she arrived she was wearing her wedding dress. She was very happy, had a case with her with a view of spending the night in the hotel but it was the honeymoon, that never happened.
“Instead she ended up in her wedding dress in a police cell, in separate cells to her husband.”
Mr Wolfson spoke of the mix up with bookings and added: ”Mr Bigland at that point got very upset and irate and made it known his views to staff, he became noisy and offensive and abusive.
“Kirsty became upset, she felt utterly humiliated standing in the middle of the hotel with people coming and going, she wanted to disappear.”
It was claimed Kirsty told her husband she wanted to go and he gave her taxi money and sat on a wall outside before Mr Bigland was escorted out by security. “She didn’t know what had happened inside to cause that,” said Mr Wolfson.
”She saw him sat on the barrier. He was removed forcefully from that and taken down.
”She was very upset. The police came and she was taken to the police station. One of the comments made by a witness, ‘look at the state of me in the middle of Manchester in my wedding dress I feel embarrassed’.”
The court heard that she had been ‘very upset’ by a comment that said she had looked ‘cheap’. She was detained in a cell until 7pm the following day.
Mr Wolfson added: “She has lost an awful lot, vilified in the media, very nasty unpleasant comments made. She has been sorely punished. Her marriage is in a precarious situation. He started it. She sought to walk away but became embroiled in it.”
Story via Cavendish Press.
Image courtesy of Mikey, with thanks.
