After fellow sailors mocked his choice for noodles, a Royal Navy engineer attacked his colleagues in a Chinese restaurant.
Kris Cullerton (33) had drunk eight pints when he allegedly ‘whacked’ Zeek Bowen, his colleague at the takeaway. Then, he confronted him again outside the Ilchester premises on October 2, 2013, a court has heard.
AET (air engineering technician) Bowen was left with a bloody nose and swollen lips. His face cover was also left ‘drenched in blood’ after the incident.
He said PO Cullerton, a married father from Sunderland, became ‘aggressive’ after he commented that his choice of a £7 vermicelli was ‘a bit heavy after a night out’.
Pictured outside Bulford Military Court, Kris Cullerton is facing four counts of battery.
Sunderland’s married father is accused of ‘whacking’ two young colleagues at a Chinese restaurant in a Somerset village.
On Tuesday, Bulford Military Court heard that two sailors had been drinking at the Bull pub and Dolphin Inn while they were stationed at Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton, also known as HMS Heron.
The court heard PO Cullerton (a senior air engineering technician) admit he was drunk when he visited a popular Chinese take-out, the Peking Chef.
AET Bowen and AET Shaun Bush, his friend, were already waiting for their orders when PO Cullerton arrived.
AET Bowen had made the comment about the superior’s choice in food. AET Bush said to the court that their superior started screaming in his face, calling him a “smart arse”, before he ‘whacked” him in the face.
PO Cullerton then confronted the pair in the street, leaving AET Bowen with minor injuries.
AET Bush said that he was mumbling to his self and uneasy on the feet during the hearing.
“He started screaming in front of me, but I couldn’t understand what he was saying. I was shocked.
“It looked almost like a hand whack to the forehead.”
AET Bowen, who was giving evidence, said that PO Cullerton had a “glazed look” in his eyes and punched AET Bush “in the back of their heads”.
The Peking Chef in the village of Ilchester, Somerset, where the incident is alleged to have taken place close to the Royal Naval base of HMS Heron
The hearing takes place at the Bulford Barracks, Salisbury, Wiltshire Military Court Centre.
AET Bush then allegedly ‘grappled” with PO Cullerton, and was ‘brought on the ground’ by the panel before the fight ended.
PO Cullerton was later placed outside the takeaway, and then he wandered off the scene, with noodles in his hand.
After deciding that it was safe to leave, they returned to the base with their fellow sailors.
The court heard that the men had never met and were unaware they were all navy colleagues.
The young engineers, who had only been qualified a year before, returned to the base around 11pm and filed a formal complaint with the Royal Navy’s police.
PO Cullerton was later interviewed. However, he denied that any physical contact occurred.
He did however, state that a verbal argument had occurred at the take-out because his pride had gotten in the way’.
PO Cullerton, whose 14-year career spans over 14 years, denies four charges of battery.
The case continues.