A COUNCIL plasterer has been jailed for six months after he bit another man on the nose.

Victim Nathan Arrowsmith was left with a round bite mark to the tip of his nose, Flintshire Magistrates’ Court was told.

Alec Michael Hammersley pulled his victim towards him by his clothes and locked his teeth on his nose for about 10 seconds.

Hammersley, 23, of Gwernaffield Road, Mold, admitted causing actual bodily harm on April 22.

Jailing him for six months, District Judge Andrew Shaw said he accepted it was not premeditated and that Hammersley did not punch his victim afterwards.

But the seriousness of the offence was the bite to the nose which had caused a wound in the shape of a complete circle.

“You bit him very hard and for a long period of time,” the judge told him.

That, on top of his previous record for violence, meant immediate custody was appropriate.

Prosecutor John Wylde said Mr Arrowsmith was with a friend in Park Avenue, Mold, when Hammersley pulled up in his car.

“He took hold of his clothing, pulled him forward and proceeded to bite his nose in such a way that his teeth locked on to his nose for about 10 seconds.”

The prosecution alleged Mr Arrowsmith was also punched several times over a £40 debt.

The victim was taken to Wrexham Maelor Hospital where steri strips were used instead of stitches because the wound was through the skin.

Interviewed, Hammersley conceded he was angry but said that was because of the complainant's “balshy attitude”.

At the time they scuffled, both held each other in a headlock, he could not breathe so he “nipped the end of his nose” to make him let go.

Mr Arrowsmith had said the debt was in relation to a bag of cannabis but defence solicitor Phillip Lloyd Jones said that was vehemently denied. His client had no involvement with drugs but when he was drinking at Christmas he agreed to make a loan available to Mr Arrowsmith.

It had not been repaid and Hammersley was not in a position to lose the money because he had a baby to support.

Mr Jones said the meeting was by chance. His client was driving along, saw him, stopped and asked for his money. They were both holding each other and Hammersley felt he was “losing the battle”.

At the time he was seeking the return of his money, his car had been damaged, his tyres slashed and comments scratched onto the vehicle bodywork.

Hammersley had since been suspended from his £22,000 a year job as a council plasterer and feared he might lose his job as a result of the proceedings.