A SPANISH chef at Isleworth's famous riverside pub, the London Apprentice, was so enraged at being woken up a second time, that he charged out of his room with one of his very sharp kitchen knives.

The person banging on his door at midnight was his manager, Murray Montgomery, 48, who ended up with a nasty gash to his thumb.

At Isleworth Crown Court on Thursday, Pablo Aguilera, 45, now living in Park Mount Road, Kirkstall, Leeds, admitted causing Mr Montgomery actual bodily harm on September 7 last year but claimed the injury was not intentional but an accident due to his recklessness.

Prosecutor Peter Briegel said Aguilera was the only person upstairs that night when Mr Montgomery was told that "some female clothing belonging to a member of staff had been removed from a drying machine and thrown out of the window."

It was then that Mr Montgomery went to speak to the chef.

"He knocked on his door twice and received no response until suddenly the door was opened and the defendant came at him with a yellow-handled cook's knife in his hand.

"He was holding the knife in front of him and, in view of his enraged demeanour, Mr Montgomery sought to knock the knife away. A combination of the chef's lunging towards him and his defensive action resulted in him receiving a deep cut to his thumb," said counsel.

The police were called and the 10-inch bladed knife was found. Mr Montgomery was taken to hospital and had stitches to his wound.

Aguilera told police he had had a very tough week doing the work of two chefs and went to bed early that night.

"At 11pm the dryer was started and he was woken and he was cross and took the washing out of the dryer and threw it out of the window.

"He went back to sleep and was woken by someone banging on his door at 12," said his counsel.

"He grabbed the first thing that came to hand which was his knife", he told officers.

His solicitor, Alured Darlington repeated this story saying Aguilera claimed to have held the knife pointing down.

However, the injury suggested he was holding it in front and Mr Montgomery raised his hands in self-defence.

Mr Darlington said the defendant was "full of remorse", that he never intended to injure the landlord and, before the police arrived, went downstairs without the knife to apologise and "sort things out".

Ordering him to do 120 hours' community punishment and pay £500 compensation to Mr Montgomery and £350 costs, Judge David Higgins said he had avoided prison only because of his guilty plea and remorse.

"You attacked your employer whilst you had a knife in your hand," he told Aguilera.

"Fortunately for you no lasting injury was inflicted - however, he did receive a nasty gash to his left thumb."