A man who bit a bouncer on the arm at the Courthouse bar has been jailed for 12 weeks.

Lee Paul Dodd admitted common assault and was also banned from entering licensed premises for six months.

Dodd was also ordered by High Bailiff Jayne Hughes to pay £500 compensation to the bouncer.

Prosecuting advocate Rebecca Cubbon told the court that the 25-year-old was in the Athol Street bar on January 26 at 3.25am.

He was on the dancefloor but was said to be acting aggressively and stumbling around.

Dodd, who lives in Oak Avenue, Douglas, was asked to leave and had to be restrained by security staff.

As he was being ejected he was put in a headlock and sunk his teeth into the bouncer’s arm.

Police arrived while Dodd was outside the bar and was said to be shouting and swearing.

An officer escorted him across the road but he broke free from police and ran off down the road towards Shaw’s Brow before being caught and detained.

He was interviewed at police headquarters but gave ’no comment’ answers to all questions.

In court, advocate Jim Travers entered a basis of plea on behalf of his client in which Dodd accepted he was intoxicated but said that he felt he was manhandled by the bouncers. He said he did not recall biting the man but accepted that he must have done so.

Mr Travers handed in references for his client and asked for credit to be given for his early guilty plea.

The advocate said that there had been no offending from Dodd between 2011 and 2018, which he said demonstrated that he could steer clear of alcohol and unruly behaviour when he applied himself.

He continued: ’It appears to have been a reactionary and instinctive action. He was being escorted out in some kind of headlock and his head was resting on the bouncer’s arm.

’There was redness but the skin was not broken.’

Mr Travers went on to say that Dodd had been of good behaviour since the offence.

A probation report assessed Dodd as a low risk of reoffending and harm to others but this rose to medium if alcohol was involved.

High Bailiff Mrs Hughes said that she accepted that the bite was not premeditated but added: ’Nonetheless you were behaving in a disorderly manner. There is a need for the courts to pass sentences that are seen to protect door staff.

’Those enjoying nights out in the Isle of Man have a responsibility not to drink to excess.’

Dodd was given until March 1 next year to pay the £500 compensation.