A RACIST who knocked out a restaurant worker’s tooth has been jailed.

Sean Terence Wemyss racially abused the employee of Asian origin as he launched his unprovoked attack, David Hall, prosecuting, told York Crown Court.

Then Wemyss put the victim through the ordeal of waiting a year to give evidence before changing his plea to guilty on the day of his trial.

The Recorder of York, Judge Stephen Ashurst, said Wemyss had nearly 150 previous convictions and had appeared before York magistrates only two days before he attacked the worker.

“It shows something of the contempt you have for the local courts that within 48 hours you attacked a man for no good reason outside his business premises,” the judge told the thug. “There was no need for it.

“It was simply because at the time you were not able to control your behaviour.

“You can’t escape punishment for this very serious attack on a wholly innocent shopkeeper.”

He jailed Wemyss for 15 months. The 38-year-old, who lives at the Arc Light Centre and has previously lived in Tang Hall, pleaded guilty to racially aggravated actual bodily harm.

Mr Hall said a girl asked to use the restaurant’s toilets and when she did, Wemyss arrived and angrily asked where she was. The staff asked him to leave and he did, but outside the restaurant he suddenly turned and lashed out.

Matthew Donkin, for Wemyss, said his client had been a heroin user for many years, but had managed to stay off the drug for about a year. “He didn’t strike that man because he was of foreign origin,” the barrister said, but he did accept his guilt of the racial charge. The court was told Wemyss was remorseful.