THE tranquility of two North Yorkshire villages was shattered after a turf war broke out between two takeaway owners, a court heard.

As a battle for customers between Thornton-le-Dale pizza boss Batal Bolakar and rival Vedat Eroglu, of The Cabin takeaway in East Heslerton, spiralled out of control “blood curdling threats” were issued and a carving knife brandished.

Bolakar, who runs Pizzaland in the picturesque village on the edge of the North York Moors National Park, had been friends with Mr Eroglu, whose outlet nine miles away in the Doomsday Book hamlet of East Heslerton, which also offers a wide range of pizzas, York Crown Court heard.

Rob Galley, prosecuting, said initially the pair had agreed not to deliver in each other’s areas, but the agreement collapsed, leading to animosity. He said: “There was, to a degree, a turf war between the two takeaways.”

The court was told Mr Eroglu had gone to accuse Bolakar of breaking their verbal agreement, at the Thornton-le-Dale outlet in the early hours of October 7.

Bolakar, described as “normally a peace-loving family man”, became enraged and grabbed a large red-handled knife from a magnetic strip on the wall in the kitchen.

The court was shown CCTV footage of the incident, which showed Bolakar waving the blade before being restrained by his son.

Bolakar, who has lived in the UK since 2004, pleaded guilty to affray and a pre-sentence report stated he had spoken of “genuine remorse and apologised for his behaviour”. David Camidge, for Bolakar, said: “He is a family man, a hard worker. This was a spur-of-the-moment thing. He’s behaved in a way that he is not proud of at all. He is someone who is unlikely to trouble the courts again.”

Judge Paul Batty QC, Recorder of York, sentenced Bolakar to a year in jail, suspended for two years, and told him to complete 150 hours’ community service.

He told the 45-year-old: “All was well for a period of time. It appears that you and he reached an agreement whereby you wouldn’t deliver pizzas in the region of Sherburn and vice versa. He believes you breached that agreement. You met him brandishing a weapon, a vicious carving knife, and issuing blood curdling threats. It’s clear feelings were running high.

“You didn’t take the knife to the scene, it was part of your kitchen, and the brandishing was on your side of the counter, not the public side.”