A 27-YEAR-OLD Poole man sank his teeth into another man's nose during a clash in a pub beer garden.

Ian Craig of Lander Close was found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm yesterday following the incident at the Lord Wimborne pub in Poole on July 19 last year.

Bournemouth Crown Court heard that a 2cm gash on Joseph Peartree's nose needed four stitches after the pair got into an altercation at around 6pm.

Giving evidence on Wednesday, Mr Peartree said he had been having a drink with a friend when Craig approached him and starting hurling abuse, claiming "he had been staring at him all evening".

"I could see he was getting wound up," Mr Peartree told the court. "He looked pretty angry. He stomped over to me with his fists clenched."

Craig, then a supervisor at the Lord Wimborne, sank his teeth in Mr Peartree's nose, he said. "I could actually feel him biting through my flesh. I could hear him growling like a dog."

As he tried to prise open Craig's mouth, Craig bit into his finger, he said.

Defence counsel Gary Lucie claimed Craig lashed out in self-defence after Mr Peartree tried to strangle him while both men were on the floor.

Mr Peartree, who told the court he had been drinking steadily since lunchtime on the day of the incident, admitted tripping Craig up and kneeling down hard on his chest while he was on the ground. But he told the court he was trying to get the defendant to release his grip on his finger.

Other pub-goers and staff pulled the pair apart and Mr Peartree was later taken by ambulance to Poole Hospital.

Craig told the court that Mr Peartree was hurling insults at him in the pub, which prompted him to approach and ask him if he had a problem. He added he believed Mr Peartree disliked him because he finished a relationship with one of Mr Peartree's friends.

He said: "I asked Mr Peartree if he had a problem with me being in the pub and he told me 'yes'.

"From that time onwards he stood up shouting abuse and lunged at me with both hands. In a couple of seconds I was pinned to the ground.

"He was on top of me choking me with both hands wrapped firmly round my neck. I was blacking out and couldn't breathe and panicking. I feared for my life."

Recorder Douglas Field said: "It's a serious case and the court must be considering custody."

Craig will be sentenced at Salisbury Crown Court on September 19.

First publication: August 18