Man lost part of ear in '˜stupid' street fight in Blackpool

The horrific injury, which left the victim missing 80 per cent of his right ear, happened when workmates from the Cumbria-based Northern Gas Network took a trip to the resort in March last year.

Dad-of-two Robert Burnett, 35, was jailed for 24 months at Preston Crown Court after admitting wounding with intent.

He and the victim had been drinking in the resort following the Cumbria floods. Judge Simon Newell said the occasion should have been a time of ‘enjoyment, celebration and relaxation’.

He said the pair decided to settle a booze-fuelled dispute ‘on the street’ outside the B&B where they were staying.

He added: “That’s a thoroughly stupid thing.

“What about the ordinary decent people of Blackpool going about their daily business when there’s two men with responsible jobs and families brawling on the street?”

Prosecuting, Hugh Barton said: “ It is clear throughout the day most of the men had been drinking, both en route and once they arrived in Blackpool.”

He said the defendant appeared ‘angry and aggressive’ and the two men had to be separated earlier in the night.

“Things flared up again,” he added. “He repeatedly offered to take the complainant outside for a fight.

“Once outside there were punches exchanged a punch landed on the defendant, who stumbled backwards. He’s then described as coming back and biting his right ear.”

The court heard Burnett then told the victim, who needed reconstructive surgery on his ear: “You shouldn’t have come outside.”

Burnett, of London Road, Carlisle, has 32 offences on his record, including biting the tip of someone’s nose off.

Defending, Dan Cordey said he had been forced to leave the army in 2001 after suffering a traumatic head injury in a road accident. He said Burnett wished to apologise.

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