A 20-year-old man has been fined for sending banana to a black customer in a Whetherspoon pub in south-east London. Louie Kincella appeared at Bexley Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, where he was found guilty of a racially aggravated offence under the Public Order Act.
Kincella from Mottingham, was fined £600. He was also ordered to pay court costs of £620 and a victim surcharge of £60 following the hearing. The black customer, Mark D’arcy-Smith was drinking with a friend at The Richmal Crompton in Bromley, south-east London, when the fruit was delivered to his table.
Kincella ordered the 30p banana using the pub chain’s app – which allows customers to buy food and drink and have it delivered to a table – during a visit in November last year. Speaking to BBC earlier, Mr D’arcy said he was left feeling “upset, shocked and scared” when it arrived and reported what had happened to the Met.
Kincella was subsequently arrested on 17 January and admitted to police that he had ordered the fruit. However, he claimed it was done “for a joke” and he had intended it to go to his table.
Following the sentencing, Mr D’arcy-Smith said it “felt like a massive weight was lifted from my shoulders”. Det Insp Stuart Hart, head of the Safeguarding Team, said the case had “required a painstaking investigation”.
“Hate crimes are a priority for the Met and we take all allegations very seriously,” he said. Wetherspoon’s confirmed that Kincella has been been barred from the pub. A spokesman added that the manager had previously met with Mr D’arcy-Smith “to apologise to him and the company does so once again now”