'Battle of Vindaloo' CCTV shows 22-person brawl in curry house

Diners who went for a birthday curry that ended in a restaurant brawl have now been served with a £52,000 bill.
Dubbed in court as the Battle of Vindaloo, the meal descended into violence when a 'rowdy' party of 22 men were said to have clashed with staff at the Shozna Indian restaurant in Rochester, Kent.
Punches and kicks were allegedly dished out by the diners while waiters, the chef and kitchen workers armed themselves with pots, pans and a broom to chase the group out.
The fight was captured on CCTV and owner Jamal Ahmed described the footage as resembling a wild west movie, with startled customers leaping from their seats to avoid the trouble.
Jamie Pettett, who was celebrating his 31st Birthday, his father, David, and younger brother Tom, were all charged with affray but were cleared in court on Tuesday, claiming self-defence.
However, it emerged in court that owner Mr Ahmed plans to serve them with a claim for £52,100 whether they are convicted or not, and civil cases have a lower burden of proof.
Trouble allegedly flared as Jamie Pettett was celebrating his 31st birthday with his father, David, younger brother Tom, and friends on July 31 2015.
However during their trial at Maidstone Crown Court in Kent it was revealed that Shozna owner Mr Ahmed plans to serve them with a civil claim for compensation for an eye-watering £52,100 whether convicted or not.
The restaurant in Maidstone Road was forced to close for the evening after the brawl, resulting in a loss of takings between £2,500 and £3,000.
However, 44-year-old Mr Ahmed told the court damage was caused to chairs, tables, glasses, hot plates, picture frames, a window and carpet.
The curry house boss also said walls needed repainting and he had to fork out £18,000 for an advertising package to 'restore the reputation' of his family-friendly eatery, which went on to win a top curry award three months later.
But he denied during cross-examination by David Pettett's legal team that he had 'over-egged the pudding' and was simply after money.
The trial heard the men had only been served their first drinks and poppadoms when they decided to leave, having accused staff of being rude and abrupt and 'throwing' bowls of curry onto their table.
As the party was being ushered out of the packed restaurant, where diners included five off-duty police officers and several children, it was alleged Mr Ahmed was punched, kicked and thrown to the floor.
His brother Jalal and chef Mohammed Hossain were also caught up in the melee.
Self-employed roofer David Pettett, 56, Jamie Pettett, now 32, and Tom Pettett, 26, all from Chatham, Kent, denied affray and claimed they were either acting in self-defence or defence of their father.
Mr Ahmed told the court he operated a no stag party or large groups of men policy but allowed the mixed-age party into his restaurant as it was early evening and they were smartly dressed.
However, he said the group became boisterous and were twice spoken to before Jamie Pettett allegedly branded him 'arsey' and declared they were leaving.
Mr Ahmed said he told them they did not have to pay their bill and was showing them to the door when a scrum developed and David Pettett tried to punch him several times.
The restaurant owner also claimed he was kicked before being grabbed around his neck and thrown to the floor. His brother and his chef also ended up on the floor, with heavy steel hot plates being sent flying from a shelf.
He said he suffered a black eye and bruising to his shoulder and back, as well as 'mental torture' from the incident.
Mr Ahmed denied arming himself with any utensil during the scuffle.
Prosecutor James Ross said at the start of the trial that what began as a verbal argument with 'finger pointing and dissatisfied gestures' at staff soon became a physical tussle.
'It was a moving scrum, a melee of people pushing, shoving and jostling. It involved more than the three people in the dock, it involved lots of people.
'A full grown, fully developed bit of argy-bargy developed and the three defendants joined in for no good reason.'
Several of the birthday party also sustained injuries, including David Pettett who told the court he was struck to his right eye with a poppadom platter and hit with a hot plate. Another needed stitches to his head.
Giving evidence, the father of three sons said his group were not 'over-boisterous' but the atmosphere in the Shozna changed as food was being served and curry was splattered over people's clothing.
His group decided to leave but Pettett said an aggressive Mr Ahmed blocked his path and threatened to slit his throat.
'I leant forward and said 'Pardon?' and he said it again. As I moved forward an arm came up - I don't know whose arm it was - with a silver platter and smacked me in the right eye. I think it was a poppadom tray.
'My reaction was one more of shock than anything. I went to grab hold of him and my son had my other arm and pulled me back. It was like a melee and with the big surge everyone just got pushed in.
'Diners were being attacked with all sorts - hot plates, pots, pans, everything. They (the staff) just wanted to start hitting.'
Pettett denied attacking anyone in the fracas and told the court he declined a solicitor following his arrest as he had 'done nothing wrong'.
The Shozna was named the South East's Best South Asian Restaurant of the Year at the Asian Curry Awards, which were presented at the Hilton hotel in Park Lane, London, in November 2015.