A PARTY turned violent when an uninvited guest was attacked by two men, with part of his ear bitten off and his nose broken.

Sam Jones needed treatment at Worcestershire Royal Hospital after he was punched in the face, bitten and kicked when a fight broke out outside a house in Warndon, Worcester, during a Christmas party.

Benjamin Davies pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm and Przemyslaw Marek admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm following the incident in the early hours of Boxing Day 2016.

Davies, aged 39, of St Anne's Road, Worcester, and Marek, aged 41, of High Street, Bromyard, appeared before judge Jim Tindal at Worcester Crown Court on Monday.

Both men said they were acting in self-defence but conceded they had used 'excessive' force when Mr Jones arrived at a party bringing Christmas gifts for his ex-partner, Mr Marek's sister.

Mr Jones had previously been in a 'volatile relationship' with her and there had been a series of arguments between them before the party, the court heard.

Jason Aris, prosecuting, said Marek became 'aggressive' towards Mr Jones, believing his sister had been assaulted, and a fight broke out in an alleyway outside the house.

Mr Jones said he had received a number of blows to the face and back of the head before Davies, who had also been at the party, became involved in the fight.

Davies said Mr Jones had been on top of him and had been pressing down on his throat when he bit his ear, kicking him afterwards.

When Mr Jones was examined at Worcestershire Royal Hospital he was found to have 'facial and nasal trauma', including a broken nose and loss of tissue from the rim of the ear.

Mr Aris said: "The Crown say this is greater harm and greater culpability – greater harm because of the nature of the injury.

"The defendant used his teeth to tear the ear and there was kicking as well."

Mr Aris said it was an aggravating feature that the attack happened in a public place.

He also argued that the assault by Marek, which caused Mr Jones a broken nose, fell into the category of greater harm but lower culpability because the defendant had been acting in self-defence, though the force he used was acknowledged to be excessive.

Davies was of previous good character with no convictions for violence but Marek had three relevant convictions on his record, including a wounding for which he received a two-year community order.

Lee Masters, representing Marek, submitted 'glowing' character references on his client's behalf and said he was working and able to make a contribution towards costs.

Richard Hull, for Davies, also gave references on his behalf to the judge.

Mr Hull said Davies had drunk alcohol on the night of the assault, adding: "He deeply regrets his actions."

Judge Tindal said he understood Mr Jones had not been welcome but the men had reacted 'extremely badly' and that the injuries were 'very nasty'.

He added: "I do wonder what on earth was going through your heads at a nice, enjoyable Christmas party when you decided to do what you did.

"Ordinarily courts treat an incident of biting as a very serious matter indeed and would approach the idea of biting defensively with a great deal of scepticism.

"Biting is something people do in fights because they want to cause as much damage as they can."

He accepted that in the heat of the moment Davies might have believed he was acting in self-defence but that he had then given Mr Jones 'a couple of kicks for good measure'.

Judge Tindal sentenced Davies to two years in prison, suspended for two years and ordered him to complete 300 hours of unpaid work and pay £1,000 compensation to Mr Jones and a contribution towards costs of £250.

He sentenced Marek to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered him to complete 200 hours of unpaid work.

Marek must also pay compensation of £500 to Mr Jones and court costs of £250.