Halstead man to face trial for alleged dispute at Stansted

Frankie Dawson, 38, of Parker Way, Halstead, is accused of starting the argument with Manel Dali whilst they were waiting to be seen by a customer service assistant at Stansted Airport in June.

Ms Dali and another member of the public were at the front of two different queues when both were called forward, Chelmsford Magistrates' Court heard on Wednesday.

The two had “a perfectly polite conversation” about who should be seen by the customer assistant first, but Dawson, who was standing behind them, is then said to have subjected Ms Dali to racial abuse and told her to “go back where you came from”.

Grace Court prosecuting, said: “He becomes very aggressive towards her about the situation, starts shouting at her and uses other expletives.

“He then says, ‘Where are you from’, and she says ‘Why does it matter?’

“He said, ‘Go back where you came from – you look like a man’.”

She continued: “He grabbed her suitcase and she calls out for help.

“She says, ‘Are you trying to assault me’ and he replies, ‘Assault you? I will take you outside and smash you up and clean it all up in front of the police’.

“He is then escorted away.”

Dawson denied one charge of racially aggravated provocation of violence and one charge of using threatening and abusive language to cause fear of violence.

Tim Scarisbrick, defending, said although Dawson was involved in the argument, it did not result in someone fearing immediate violence.

When given the choice of standing trial in Chelmsford or Cambridge, Dawson, who was dressed in jeans and a black shirt, told magistrates it would be too inconvenient for him to travel to Cambridge because he has metal plates in his leg.

Bench chair Lucy Lavender told Dawson he will not stand trial until 2026.

She said: “You need to be back at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on, I regret to say, January 13, 2026, so please put a note in your diary.

“It is very far away and it’s very easy to overlook that.”