A HOMOPHOBIC yob downed four pints of Stella before getting chucked off a 9am flight.

Michael Cunnett lashed out at cabin crew members who had asked him not to smoke an e-cigarette on board an Easyjet flight at Gatwick.

The plasterer, 38, was meant to be on his honeymoon to Egypt.

But he left his wife and passengers stunned by his foul-mouthed abuse and attacks on airline staff.

She told him: “Look at what you’ve done. You have f***** off our honeymoon.”

Cunnett said he was ashamed of his behaviour and did not hold homophobic views.

But Judge David Rennie said the four pints he had drunk brought out his “true character”.

At Hove Crown Court the judge jailed him for seven months for the “disgraceful” attack.

Ryan Richter, prosecuting, said cabin crew had spotted that Cunnett was being louder than the other passengers as he boarded the flight in February.

Cunnett had used homophobic slurs before striking cabin crew Andre Botha, who he floored with two punches.

Another flight attendant, Christopher Bogley, asked Cunnett to calm down, but he was also struck.

Then in the police van Cunnett abused an officer by calling him a “baldy c***” and caused criminal damage by kicking and headbutting the cage, knocking himself out.

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The cabin crew members felt intimidated, leaving Mr Botha fearing for his safety and wondering if he may be attacked again.

Mr Bogley, who has worked as a flight attendant, for 12 years, said: “He didn’t know my sexuality, but I am a gay man and proud of it.

“It is not a lifestyle choice, it is natural and no one deserves to be discriminated against for their sexuality.

“Many people struggle with it, and deal with mental health problems on a daily basis. His remarks to me were personal.

“If he travels again, my hope is that he will treat people with respect and acknowledge that he lives in a diverse society which is something that should be embraced, not ridiculed.”

Judge David Rennie praised Mr Bogley’s statement and said: “It was sensitive and fair, and it echoes all right-thinking people in society.”

David Forsyth, defending, said Cunnett, of Tonstall Road in Epsom, Surrey, was “fully aware that his behaviour was reprehensible” and was “thoroughly embarrassed and ashamed”.

He accepted that other passengers would have been frightened and alarmed.

He admitted interfering with the performance of cabin crew, two common assaults and criminal damage.

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The judge ordered him to pay £500 compensation to both victims.

He said: “It was like a child having a tantrum. You chose to drink four pints and to behave in a foul-mouthed, highly abusive manner. Something of your true character did reveal itself.

“We do have to ask why airports are selling that amount of alcohol outside of usual licensing hours.

“An attack on the perceived sexuality of these men was utterly shameful. People like you find yourself on the edge of society.

“Only an immediate custodial sentence can be justified.”