This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-26239922
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Clive Mantle: Ear bitten 'in hotel row over noise' | Clive Mantle: Ear bitten 'in hotel row over noise' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Former Casualty actor Clive Mantle had part of his ear bitten off in a row over noise at a hotel, a court has heard. | Former Casualty actor Clive Mantle had part of his ear bitten off in a row over noise at a hotel, a court has heard. |
| Newcastle Crown Court was told how the actor, 56, was woken up by shouting in the corridor outside his room in the Quayside Travelodge on 24 March. | |
| When he asked Philip McGilvray, 33, and Alan French 32, to be quiet, the pair "laid into him", the jury heard. | When he asked Philip McGilvray, 33, and Alan French 32, to be quiet, the pair "laid into him", the jury heard. |
| Both men of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, deny wounding with intent. | Both men of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, deny wounding with intent. |
| The actor, who played surgeon Mike Barrett in the BBC medical dramas Casualty and Holby City, had been appearing at the city's Theatre Royal when the incident happened at 04:30 GMT. | |
| He was on the way to reception to complain when the two defendants "deliberately blocked his path", the court heard. | |
| 'Flurry of punches' | |
| Mr McGilvray, of Arbroath Grove, and Mr French, of Forrest Gate, were visiting Newcastle with friends and had been out drinking. | |
| Jolyon Perks, prosecuting, said: "He told them he needed to get past and placed his hands between them, and tried to force his way through, perhaps not unreasonably considering the situation he was in. | |
| "At this point they both decided to grab his arms and set about him. Both men threw a flurry of drunken punches, some landed, some didn't. | |
| "Ultimately, it ended with him being dragged on the ground face down." | |
| Mr French was on top of the actor and Mr McGilvray was by his left side, when the actor felt a "very sharp pain to his ear". | |
| Mr Perks said the row had "culminated with a substantial part of his ear being bitten off". | |
| The trial continues. |