A JOINER, who bit off a man’s ear in an unprovoked attack, was jailed for 21 months at Lincoln Crown Court.
Adam Maher, 25, stood in the middle of Dexter Avenue, Grantham, in the early hours of the morning on March 4 shouting abuse.
He then turned on the occupants of a taxi, which arrived to drop off passengers returning home from a birthday party.
Christopher Lowe, prosecuting, said the taxi passengers approached Maher as one of them knew him.
Maher reacted by punching out at Thomas Aistrop, who tried to restrain him.
He continued to shout abuse and punched out at another passenger, Natalie Short.
Mr Lowe told the court that a struggle took place between Maher and Mr Aistrop which resulted in Maher straddling his victim before biting off a large part of his ear.
Mr Lowe said: “The defendant bit down on to Mr Aistrop’s ear clamping his teeth on to it.
“The injury caused Thomas Aistrop to bleed heavily and he was in pain.”
Mr Aistrop managed to struggle free and emergency services were called to the scene.
He was taken to hospital, but despite the efforts of medical staff, it was not possible to reattach the missing part of the ear and he is now permanently disfigured.
Maher, who at the time lived nearby, was arrested and interviewed but suggested he was simply defending himself.
Maher, of Manor Drive, Long Bennington, admitted unlawfully wounding Thomas Aistrop and common assault to Natalie Short as a result of the incident on March 4.
Judge Peter Clark told him: “You instigated this. You obviously had far too much to drink. This was a pretty horrible injury.”
Stuart Lody, defending, said Maher was full of remorse and contrition for what happened.
He said: “He drank a large amount of alcohol on an empty stomach. He consumed five pints of lager. He had four or five tequilas and also some vodka.
“That was beyond his normal tolerance. Since this offence he has abstained from alcohol.
“What occurred was bizarre. He simply cannot understand what happened and how he ended up behaving like that.
“He is very sorry. He feels ashamed.”
Mr Lody said Maher, who lives with a partner and young child, had a strong work ethic and has always been employed since leaving school.