A man who assaulted and bit his sister's neighbour in a drunken brawl did so in "self-defence", a court has heard.
Curtis Garside, 29, had been drinking with his mother, who lives in Stathern in Leicestershire's Vale of Belvoir, throughout the day before his sister had invited him over.
Just after midnight, Garside thought he had arrived at his sister's house - also in Stathern - but he had actually pitched up at her next-door neighbour's property.
The 29-year-old proceeded to knock on her neighbour's front door until he woke up, a court heard.
The brawl broke out at a property on the Green in the picturesque village of Stathern, Leicestershire
After Garside was sent to the correct address, he started banging on her door, prompting her neighbour to get dressed and go outside to tell him to quieten down.
His response pushed the 29-year-old to launch into a fight - first, Garside unsuccessfully attempted to land a punch on the neighbour, before he retaliated, punching Garside in the mouth and knocking out a tooth.
Garside then began hitting the neighbour's arms and legs before biting him - for which he was arrested by Leicestershire Police and charged with common assault.
The 29-year-old was found guilty of the offence at Leicester Magistrates' Court, but his case was escalated to Leicester Crown Court for sentencing as he had already been under a crown court suspended sentence order after being caught with a knife in public in 2021.
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Garside was found guilty of the offence at Leicester Magistrates' Court, but his case was escalated to Leicester Crown Court for sentencing
Lauren Butts, representing Garside, said he had been "agitated" and admitted to throwing the first punch.
She added: "He punched back, and it went beyond self-defence, but he wasn't picking a fight with someone for the sake of it."
Butts said that losing a tooth had been costly and painful for her client, and that he had been drinking with his mother after she told him her partner had tried to kill her.
The court heard how Garside had suffered in childhood - he had left home at 13 after being physically and mentally abused, but Butts said he now enjoyed a stable relationship with his partner, with whom he has a six-year-old child.
Garside had been in therapy since the incident in September 2022 and had not had any alcohol since then, the court was told.
Recorder Adrian Jack, sentencing, said the incident was a long time ago, adding that a probation report about the 29-year-old showed "promising signs" for the future.
Garside was sentenced to an 18-month community order with 120 days of alcohol monitoring, as well as 15 days of probation service programmes.
The offender was also told to pay a £600 fine for breaching the terms of his earlier suspended sentence alongside a further £600 in compensation to his sister's neighbour.
