A 20-year-old man has been imprisoned for carrying out an assault on a staff member at a forecourt in Burgess Hill, West Sussex.
Crawley man Muhammad Saeed was asked not to eat and drink at the shop counter, ignoring these requests before throwing a hot cup of coffee over the worker, then punching and kicking him. The incident took place at around 10pm on 15 December 2025.
Saeed’s capture came after police identified him following a review of the forecourt’s CCTV system.
At Lewes Crown Court he was sentenced to two years and four months after pleading guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and theft, the latter charge being brought as he left the forecourt without paying for the coffee.
Detective Constable Annabel Turner from Sussex Police described the assault as “shocking” and said that Saeed had been “deliberately obstructive, refusing to stop eating and drinking at the counter where he had spilled coffee”.
DC Turner added that Saeed’s assault has had an “ongoing impact” on his victim.
