Cold Kebab: Armed-to-teeth Bedford thugs take deliverer hostage, fire at cops, cost govt fortune

Paul Burton, 45, and Nathan Turner, 37, were sentenced to prison for firing a sniper-style air rifle at a police car from an eighth-floor flat in Bedford, near Milton Keynes, after holding a delivery driver hostage for 14 hours because the kebab he delivered was cold.

The duo, who had been drinking and doing drugs, demanded that the delivery guy return their money and locked him in a lift, only to release him an hour later when the shop's owner arrived to collect him.

According to The Sun, Burton accused the driver of being late and forgetting the salad in a video live-streamed on Facebook.

They also approached a neighbour with the firearm soon before 6am when she knocked on their door to protest about the loud music.

When she said she was at her "wit's end", the music was briefly toned down before being put back up, and she saw the weapon pointing at her front door.

The lady phoned the cops when the lairy couple waved a genuine pistol at her door, claiming it looked like an AK47.

"We're not coming out slowly," one of the thugs adds as heavily armed cops stand outside their door.

"If you come in one of you gets killed."

The next morning, Burton shot the air gun at a police car, piercing the glass and almost missing a dog handler who was afraid for his life.

Images captured by CCTV inside one of the block's corridors show Turner holding the massive three-foot gun, outfitted with a telescopic sight and a suppressor at the end of the barrel.

Turner proceeded to hurl paint and plants from the flat, harming automobiles as he did so.

He surrendered to authorities at 12:30pm, and Burton arrived just before 6pm.

Both were apprehended 14 hours after their reign of terror began.

When police arrived at the flat, they confiscated the rifle as well as another imitation handgun.

They also discovered many large pythons and other reptiles, which were eventually rehomed.

In Luton Crown Court, the pair's actions were described as "lawless anti-social behaviour."

The public is believed to have paid a total of £85,000 for the call-out, with damage to the police cars costing up to £4,700, according to the Bedford Independent.

In mitigation, William Durrands stated that Turner had endured a loss, had been removed from his family, and was bipolar.

Burton's solicitors also stated that he had a history of substance misuse and mental health issues.

Burton was sentenced to seven years in prison in early October after pleading guilty to trying to inflict grievous bodily harm with intent and two charges of possessing an imitation handgun to provoke fear of violence.

Turner, 37, of Bury Court, Bedford, pleaded guilty to affray and five charges of criminal damage before receiving a 20-month jail term.

He was most likely freed relatively shortly after spending time on remand.