It beggars belief..that anybody should try and interfere with these people trying to carry out their duty in the proper way

Recorder Roger Thomas

Atkinson, of Osbourne Terrace, Ferryhill, County Durham, was a passenger in his cousin's red Ford Fiesta when it caught fire near the Eden Arms Hotel on the A689 in County Durham on January 10.

A dispute started when Mr Williams went to remove the fascia of the car's dashboard with a crowbar to get to a fire `hot-spot' near the engine.

Prosecutor Shaun Dodds told Teesside Crown Court a scuffle broke out as Atkinson tried to stop firefighters damaging the car.

Intense pain

Mr Dodds said: "The defendant bent his head down, taking Mr Williams' right ear in his mouth and then bit and twisted his head.

"Mr Williams felt intense pain as the defendant pulled part of his ear off."

Atkinson then jumped off the injured firefighter, spat the ear part into a patch of grass before fleeing the scene on a friend's moped.

Jamie Hill, for the defence, said Atkinson had been causing a disturbance but that Mr Williams had thrown several punches at the defendant before the two had grappled on the ground.

Mr Hill said Atkinson's arms were pinned by his side and he had lunged out with his mouth.

He had grabbed hold of the firefighter's ear in his teeth, and a chunk of flesh came away as Mr Williams' four colleagues pulled the pair apart.

'Serious punishment'

In sentencing Atkinson to three-and-a-half years in prison, Mr Thomas said: "They were public servants doing their public duty and doing it properly.

"It beggars belief, quite frankly, that anybody should try and interfere with these people trying to carry out their duty in the proper way.

"Whoever the public servants be, the public ask to be comforted in the knowledge that when these sorts of people are attacked in the course of duty, the courts will punish the people seriously."

Fire Officer Williams' injury kept him off work for six weeks and forced him to apply for a transfer from his Durham Fire Brigade station.

The 27-year-old firefighter from Chester-le-Street, County Durham was treated at Shotley Bridge Hospital.