Man bit off 'big chunk' of victim's ear

A MAN who bit off a large chunk of another man's ear outside a pub after repeatedly punching him and knocking him to the ground has been jailed for four years.

Benjamin Boyce attacked Lee Potter outside The Greyhound pub, in Diss, on April 25 this year, Norwich Crown Court heard.

Sattam Al-Mugheiry, prosecuting, said 34-year-old Boyce, of Lembseth Street, in Eye, had unleashed an “unprovoked attack” on Mr Potter while in what Boyce himself had described as “a blind rage”.

Mr Al-Mugheiry told the court that Boyce had a long list of previous convictions for violent offences, including two for biting people.

He said: “The victim, Mr Lee Potter, had gone out with friends to the pub and had a few drinks and, at some time close to midnight, when he went outside to see a friend off, the defendant approached him and spoke to him.

“He did not understand what the defendant was saying, and asked him 'What do you want?' He was then punched in the face and received a series of punches before ending up face down on the floor in the road outside the pub.

“He says he may have thrown a punch back after he was punched first by the defendant. When Mr Potter was on the floor, the defendant jumped on his back, and he said he then felt tremendous pain in his left ear. Effectively, the defendant had bitten off the upper part of his left ear.”

Mr Potter said in a statement that the wound had been incredibly painful for a long time, and had caused his two young sons to be scared of him because of the appearance of his ear.

Boyce pleaded guilty to a charge of actual bodily harm.

Ian James, mitigating, said that Boyce had not been convicted of any crimes for eight years and that he deserved credit for his guilty plea.

He said: “He is a deferential, polite, reasonable man. However, he is blighted by what is ostensibly his inability to control his temper, particularly in circumstances where drink is involved.”

He added that Boyce had claimed he had been hit first.