A CLUBBER bit off part of a man's ear in a York street brawl, a court heard.
Lea Calvin Barker, 27, claimed he was acting in self-defence when he attacked Stephen Lamb in High Ousegate after an altercation at The Gallery nightclub.
But a jury at York Crown Court yesterday convicted him of causing grievous bodily harm by a ten to two majority.
They acquitted him of an alternative charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and of causing grievous bodily harm to a woman with Mr Lamb, Carol Binks.
The jury took four hours and 18 minutes to reach their verdict at the end of a week-long trial during which they visited the nightclub.
They heard how the two men met at The Gallery and exchanged words.
Later, the pair met again at a kebab stall in High Ousegate.
Barker forced Mr Lamb to the ground where he hit him several times and bit off part of his ear. The jury heard Barker made off but was arrested by police nearby with blood on his hands and mouth.
The prosecution claimed he made an unprovoked attack on Ms Binks which broke her jaw, but Barker told the jury he had thought he was being attacked when he hit her.
Barker will be sentenced at a later date.
Updated: 10:43 Saturday, March 24, 2001
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