A top swimmer who bit off a piece of another man’s ear during a confrontation in a Huddersfield nightclub has been ordered to pay him £2,500 compensation.

Dominic Hegarty, now a swimming instructor and personal trainer, spat out the piece of Ryan Lawton’s ear on to the floor of the Tokyo nightclub after they were separated, Richard Walters prosecuting told Leeds Crown Court.

He then went to the toilet to wash out his mouth before he was detained by door staff.

Mr Lawton, 22, was taken to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary but the piece of ear could not be re-attached. He has since had plastic surgery to reconstruct his ear.

Hegarty, 31, of Heritage Mills, Brook Lane, Golcar admitted causing him grievous bodily harm in the early hours of January 4 last year on the basis of excessive self-defence.

Dominic Hegarty
Dominic Hegarty

In addition to the compensation he was given an 18-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months, 200 hours unpaid work and ordered to pay £1,000 costs.

Mr Walters said Mr Lawton had been out with friends on the evening of January 3 to a private function at the YMCA before going to the nightclub.

Hegarty had also been out with friends at the Revolution bar where his group had spoken to two girls before they went separately to the nightclub.

Around 2.30 am one of the girls was talking at the bar to Mr Lawton, who had been a friend for years. Hegarty then approached her and she thought was intending to “wind her up” by smiling at her and asking “What are you doing with him?”

She walked away but Mr Lawton, who was buying a drink remained. Mr Walters said it would appear words were exchanged CCTV then showed Hegarty being “shoved across the floor” and landing on his bottom.

Leeds Crown Court
Leeds Crown Court

“The complainant then comes into view and effectively squares up to him.” Mr Walters said the pair began grappling as others tried to separate them and in the course of the struggle he bit Mr Lawton’s ear.

When he was later arrested Hegarty said he was a “binge drinker” and that night had “got plastered.” He said he had been punched and later found his teeth were a bit wobbly and he had blood in his mouth but did not know about the bite.

The court heard he had a previous conviction for grievous bodily harm in 2009 and three for drink driving.

Peter Killen representing Hegarty urged the court not to jail him immediately. He said he had expressed genuine remorse for his actions and had now moderated his drinking and no longer went out late socialising.

He had learnt to swim at age 3 and represented England at the Commonwealth Games in the past. He had then set up his own business Get Wet Swimming which ran classes at two pools in the Huddersfield area to get people of different ages swimming.

He had nine other staff, many as trainers on a part-time basis and if he was jailed that would affect his business. He said his normal behaviour was “totally different from the man seen in those 59 seconds on CCTV.”

Recorder Nigel Sangster QC said “It is a horrific offence of biting someone’s ear so severely it was not just cut but a chunk of the ear comes off in your mouth. You spat it out, it could not be re-attached and the victim had to have plastic surgery.”