A man was chased into a takeaway by a gang of thugs, before being beaten black and blue.

John Reynolds was walking past a gym on December 31, 2020, when he alleged a Toyota car was driven at him, before it crashed into a wall.

Burnley Crown Court heard the occupants of the car and Reynolds had been in some kind of dispute, and as a result Reynolds was then chased down the street by a group of Asian men who were wielding weapons.

Reynolds picked up a weapon thought to have been carried by one of the group before running into Tabi’s takeaway on Elm Street and trying to lock himself in.

CCTV played in court showed the group of men banging on the windows before they entered the takeaway and began attacking Reynolds, 29, while he was on the floor.

The police arrived and Reynolds was arrested for assault and possession of an offensive weapon, but these charges were later dropped when he pleaded to the alternative of public order offence on the proviso that he hadn’t brought the weapon into the street but had found it.

As a result, Reynolds sustained serious injuries to his lungs, ankle and skull and was left unable to work.

District Judge Richard Clews said: “You got yourself into a dispute with the group which I have seen on the CCTV.

“There’s no evidence that you took a weapon to the scene. You say you picked it up as a result of it being discarded by one of the group.

“You assert that a car was driven at you before the incident in the takeaway but instead of striking you, the car hit a wall.

“You should never have allowed this dispute to have occurred in the first place.

“A situation of that kind is never going to end well and it’s never sensible to take up weapons, even dangerous weapons as the situation you found yourself in is only then going to escalate.

“Of course, if others come at you with weapons I appreciate you are bound to be fearful and think about how best to defend yourself but it was not a sensible course to take.

“It’s perfectly clear that once you were in the takeaway you were not interested in violence, you tried to escape it but you were very severely beaten and injured.

“You did not deserve this to happen but nevertheless there is a lesson to be learned about seeking to avoid this kind of confrontation in the first place.”

Reynolds, of Derwent Court, Darwen, was handed a 12 month community order and must complete 20 rehabilitation activity days.

The men who carried out the attack on Reynolds pleaded guilty to violent disorder and will be sentenced in March.