Soldier's ear severed in incident at Wetherspoon pub

Doctors had to use 56 stitches to close the wound inflicted by Carter Kennedy, 31, said Daisy Wrigley, prosecuting.

Looking at a picture of the injury, Judge Simon Hickey said: “Horrific. The ear is completely severed.”

In a personal statement, the soldier said: “I have been to extreme places in the world and walked away unscathed.

“But I cannot go to a pub safely in a place I call home. I am a shell of what I used to be.”

He said he had worked for three years to become an Army instructor at the Army Foundation College in Harrogate but had lost that job through the psychological and physical effects of the injury.

The Army Foundation College, Harrogate

He could lose out on promotion as a result, he had lost financially and he now avoided going out socially with colleagues, friends or family.

Kennedy, of Beckford Close, Wallsend, denied a charge of causing grievous bodily harm but did not attend his trial at Harrogate Magistrates' Court. He was convicted in his absence and sent to York Crown Court for sentence.

Ms Wrigley said the soldier was with friends in The Winter Gardens, a Wetherspoon pub in Harrogate town centre, on April 14, 2023.

At about 10pm, Kennedy, who was so drunk it was difficult to understand him, approached and asked the soldier a series of questions about his work.

At 11pm, Kennedy came over to the soldier again, put an arm round him and accused him of lying about being in the Army.

Kennedy grabbed the soldier who pushed him in the chest, Kennedy pulled him to the floor and both rolled on the ground.

The soldier bit Kennedy in the stomach to try and get him off him and Kennedy punched him in the face two or three times, said Ms Wrigley.

The pair were pulled apart and the soldier was taken first to Harrogate accident and emergency department and then to York Hospital.

He had cuts and other injuries beside the severed ear.

For Kennedy, Jemima Stephenson said there was no clear evidence about how the ear injury had been inflicted, and there was no evidence of a weapon being used.

The judge said unless there was a glass on the floor “the inescapable conclusion is, it is a bite”.

Ms Stephenson said Kennedy had lost his front teeth in a motorbike accident and now had removable teeth in a kind of denture.

The judge adjourned sentence until May 29 for the lawyers to get more information.

Ms Stephenson said Kennedy was remorseful and ashamed about his actions.

He realised that alcohol was a problem with him and had taken steps to tackle it, including giving up drinking completely.

Ms Stephenson said Kennedy had had mental problems since he was a child and his ongoing depression had been exacerbated by his actions in Wetherspoons.

He had not attended his trial because he had taken an overdose in a bid to end his life.

Ms Wrigley said the soldier had not been able to attend the trial either because he was on an Army course and the prosecution had applied for the case to be adjourned. But the defence had opposed the application and the magistrates had gone ahead with the trial.