Husband sick in dock as wife is jailed for biting landlady's ear off in attack
A man was sick in the dock when his wife was jailed for biting off the ear of a pub landlady in a drunken brawl.
Gemma Rowlands and Darren More had been to the Firemans Arms in Birkenhead, Liverpool, in November 2019.
During the evening Rowlands began arguing with other customers and the couple was asked to leave the pub.
When a scuffle broke out off-duty landlady Michelle Thomas fell to the floor with the mum "on top of her".
In the melee her ear was bitten by the carer as drinkers tried to separate them, leaving her permanently disfigured, Liverpool Crown Court heard.
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Rowlands admitted wounding and today was jailed for 14 months, Liverpool Echo reported.
More, who pleaded guilty to affray and was handed a four-month imprisonment suspended for a year, was ill in the dock as his wife was led away.
More was seen retching in the dock as his wife was jailed (Liverpool Echo)In a victim statement read out to the court, Ms Thomas said: "I'm stuck looking the way I do.
"I find it difficult to talk about what has happened. For the first six weeks, I didn't move from my mum's sofa.
"It has had a massive impact on me as a person. There is not a day where I don't think about what happened.
"People look at my ear and think I'm a violent person, which I'm not. I feel like for the past few years I have been going round in circles.
"I know this is something that will be with me for the rest of my life. This has totally changed me as a person.
"I used to be bubbly and see the good in everyone, but now I don't. I was very confused and angry."
CCTV footage of the brawl was played to the court during their sentencing hearing. The clip - which lasted some eight minutes - showed a verbal argument descending into pushing and shoving involving around a dozen people, a large number of whom were then seen grappling on the floor.
The assault happened during a night out at the pub, the court heard (Liverpool Echo)Punches could be seen being thrown by some, including blows aimed at More.
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Ms Thomas suffered "severe injuries" to her ear after Rowlands' bite, causing a "significant deformity"
She had to visit her GP daily in the aftermath to have the horrific wound checked and redressed until her stitches were removed, after which she was given a prosthetic to fit using glue.
The complainant will require reconstructive surgery consisting of four operations, involving the removal of cartilage from her ribs.
David Polglase, appearing on the 25-year-old's behalf, said a dispute had erupted after his client "removed a child from the toilets" and took them to their parents, but was accused of having "scared" the youngster.
The assault then came after the mother-of-two, who works with autistic children, and her friend had been "grabbed by their hair and taken out".
The barrister added: "She accepts she had consumed drink, but she doesn't accept she had been drinking all day - she had some drink in Liverpool over a long period of time, but a limited amount of drink and perhaps one more in the pub.
More told proceedings he had downed 12 pints of Carling (Liverpool Echo)"Ms Rowlands accepts she spoke to a DJ - she says she was at most cheeky to the DJ, and there were issues about wanting to sing a song on the karaoke. There were children running about in the pub in the footage.
"She assisted in removing a child from the toilets and returned the child to one of the parents. She defended her position and said she hadn't scared the child.
"There are others involved who were not holding back or covering themselves in glory. My lay client looks back at what happened that night with remorse and regret.”
After his arrest, More, 31, said he had consumed 12 pints of Carling and a "fight just kicked off".
Charles Lander, defending, added: “It is over three years since the commission of this offence. Mr More isn't someone who has just sat around, he is someone who is hard-working.
"He is someone who joined the army and was hoping for a promising career, but he snapped his ligament in 2010 and his progress was cut short.
"He had drunk too much that day. He was minding his own business, a man grabbed hold of him and perhaps his natural instincts kicked in at seeing his partner on the floor being restrained - he accepts what he did then became unlawful."
He broke down in tears as his wife was taken down, then began retching in the dock. Sentencing, Judge Louise Brandon said: "Several people in that pub should be truly ashamed of their behaviour that night and are fortunate not to be joining you in the dock. You, Ms Rowlands, caused a serious injury to Ms Thomas - you bit part of her ear off.
"Ms Thomas has suffered a significant deformity to her ear, requiring extensive medical treatment. She has had to change how she conducts her life and it has changed how people treat her.
"The incident only took eight minutes, but in that eight minutes you argued with several people, got involved in a fight and went on to cause this serious injury. You caused a grave injury which is permanent and disfiguring."
There is no doubt that you clearly deeply regret your involvement in this offence and that you are an intelligent, hard-working woman. In your case, I have reached the conclusion that the circumstances are such that appropriate punishment can only be achieved by immediate custody."
More was also told to serve a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 40 days and to pay £300 in compensation to Ms Thomas.
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