A takeaway chef who attacked a man because he had insulted his dead mother told a judge: “He’s lucky he’s still alive.”

Mahmut Keser, 39, passionately defended his violence when he appeared in the dock before District Judge Gerald Chalk at Carlisle’s magistrates court over the attack, which happened on the afternoon of November 20.

Keser had pleaded guilty to an assault by beating.

Prosecutor Diane Jackson described how the victim – a fellow Turkish national – had been sitting in his parked car in Shaddongate when he was spotted by the defendant, who worked at the nearby Charcoal Grill takeaway.

“The man opened his window as Mr Keser approached,” said Mrs Jackson. “But Mr Keser began to swear at him in Turkish and smacked him in his face.”

The victim got out of his car and was immediately punched a number of times by the defendant while another man tried to separate them.

Keser was heard threatening his victim, saying he would kill him in 30 seconds.

One witness later spoke of seeing the defendant trying to drag his victim across a car park towards an alleyway as he attacked him. The man was left shaken by what he saw.

The whole incident lasted 10 minutes, said Mrs Jackson.

After the incident, she said, the victim had a cut on his right cheek and his spectacles were damaged. He also had a sore head.

From the dock, Keser challenged part of the prosecution outline. 

“I didn’t touch his car, and I didn’t say I’d kill him in 30 seconds,” he said. “I told him that if you swear about my mum again I will kill you in 30 seconds or maybe less. My mother is in her grave.

“He’s a lucky man he’s still alive.

“He can’t swear at my mum. He could hit me, and swear at me, but not at my mum. If he’d sworn at me, I’d not have touched him at all.

“My culture is different.”

A professional chef, who had been in the country for the last 20 years, he had gone to his mother’s funeral, he said. He told the court that he had begged the other man to go but he would not.

But he was adamant that nobody could use the words the man had used about his mother. “Anybody abuses my mother and I’m a dangerous man,” said Keser, of Cumberland Street, Denton Holme.

He said he was the victim and he still felt angry.

He added: “They can swear at my wife, my kids, at me personally, but nobody can swear at my mother.” Judge Chalk told him: “You hit this man several times. It was a sustained assault and the injuries were high.”

He imposed a 12-month community order, with 160 hours unpaid work in the community.

He also told Keser to pay his victim £300 compensation and imposed £85 prosecution costs. As he walked from the court, Keser shook his head and declared: “This isn’t just.”

He said he would appeal against the sentence.