Clubber bit off part of man's ear

Bradford Crown Court heard how Ashley Webb lost the top part of his right ear when 26-year-old Luke Stringer bit him during the violence outside the Liquid nightclub in March last year.

Stringer, of Page Hill, Wheatley, Halifax, had earlier felled Mr Webb’s brother Aaron with a single punch leaving him unconscious on the ground.

Aaron Webb suffered a fractured skull as a result of his head hitting the ground and after initially being discharged from hospital he had to be re-admitted due to a bleed on his brain.

Stringer, who admitted two offences of inflicting grievous bodily harm and one of affray, was jailed for three years after Judge David Hatton QC was shown CCTV of the disturbance.

The judge accepted that there may have been some verbal abuse from other parties, but he said Stringer was the first to resort to violence and he was the instigator of it.

Judge Hatton said Stringer had “lost control” and had committed the offences while he was under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

Stringer’s barrister Jayne Beckett submitted that her client had abstained from drink and drugs since the incident 14 months ago.

But Judge Hatton said he would be failing in his public duty if he did not send Stringer immediately to custody for the offences.

Two other men who were out with Stringer that night received suspended jail terms after they admitted a charge of affray.

Judge Hatton said Daniel Reid, 26, of Haley Court, Halifax, and Daniel Egan, 25, of Tewit Hall Gardens, Illingworth, were considerably less involved than Stringer and neither was responsible for causing any of the serious injuries.

The court heard that neither man had any previous convictions and Judge Hatton suspended their 12-month prison sentences for two years. Both men will be subject to four-month nighttime curfews.