Sunderland man bit takeaway boss’s ear after free food demand

A man who bit off part of a takeaway boss’s ear after his demands for free food were refused has been jailed for five years and three months.

Wayne Kilty, 43, launched a vicious attack on a man at a Chinese takeaway in Sunderland in October, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

The victim, who was left with a broken nose and permanent disfigurement to his ear, said he feared Kilty, of Stafford Street in Sunderland, would return.

Kilty, who had 79 offences on his criminal record, admitted intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm.

Kilty was drunk or under the influence of drugs when he went into the takeaway and demanded free food at about 20:30 BST on 10 October, the court heard.

When he was asked to leave, Kilty erupted into violence and attacked the restaurant’s boss, the court heard.

CCTV footage showed the melee spilling into the street, with the man being repeatedly punched in the face as he lay on the ground before Kilty leaned forward and bit a chunk of his ear off.

In a statement read to the court, the victim said he had never been attacked before and he no longer felt safe at work.

“No-one deserves to be treated like this,” the man said.

In mitigation, the court heard Kilty mistakenly thought he was going to be attacked and had poor vision after being blinded in his left eye and left with cataracts in the right one when he was attacked with ammonia in 2021.

Recorder Marco Giuliani said Kilty, whose criminal history included multiple acts of violence, had been assessed as posing a high risk to others and had used “gratuitous” violence in the October attack.

Kilty will also have to serve a further two and a half years on extended licence upon his release after being deemed to be “dangerous”.