Prison officer bit wedding guest’s ear at Derbyshire hotel

Mark Clark was at a urinal, in Santo's Higham Farm Hotel and Restaurant, on Main Street, Higham, at 9pm, on January 19, last year, when the dispute broke out.

He followed the man outside, wanting a fight, and pushed him in the back, before calling him names and swinging a punch.

Prosecutor Sarah Phelan said the men grappled and briefly fell to the floor. Clark hit the man a number of times and they fell over a low wall.

During the struggle, Clark bit the man's left ear and grabbed his tie, making it too tight for him to breathe, until the duty manager intervened.

Afterwards Clark told his victim: "Look after your f****** face. That showed you."

The man was left with facial injuries and his ear had to be glued.

Clark later told police the argument started when the other man urinated on his shoes and trousers and offered him outside for a fight.

Gareth Gimson, mitigating, said: "On this occasion something has gone drastically wrong and a red mist descended.”

He said Clark, who served in the Armed Forces, was “absolutely bewildered at what he did that night,” and had “caused fear and shame to befall his wife and daughter.”

Clark, who was described as a “role model in the prison service,” resigned “from the job he loved,” Mr Gimson said. He added that if Clark was imprisoned, he would “present with a target on his back,” and it was also likely he would lose his family’s home.

Clark, 45, of Main Road, Higham, Alfreton, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Judge Nirmal Shant QC said “it was quite plain this was a serious incident,” but took the impact a custodial sentence would have on his family into account.

She told him: “You have come very close to losing your liberty.”

She imposed a 13 month sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered him to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work. He must also pay £1,000 in compensation.

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