A MAN who bit his friend’s nose after drowning his sorrows at England’s World Cup demise has been spared jail.

Jamie Grieve, 20, was involved in what was called as “foolish japery” and hit his friend on the head with a bottle.

Angered by this, the victim challenged Grieve to a fight and as the pair grappled Grieve bit his nose.

Prosecuting, Robert Crook told Teesside Crown Court: “It was a nasty injury caused, but fortunately there were no long term scars.”

Johnny Walker, mitigating, said the incident happened on the day England went out of the last World Cup, on June 20 last year.

He said: “A lot of young men were drinking excessively that evening and were angered and disappointed at the failures of others thousands of miles away.”

However, Judge John Walford replied incredulously: “If that was an excuse for those who follow English sporting teams the streets would be littered with drunken thugs day in day out.”

Mr Walker said Grieve, a labourer and volunteer worker who was described as a “decent lad”, regretted his actions, but could not explain them.

He said he wished to apologise to the complainant.

Judge Walford said Grieve, of Muriel Street, Redcar, had taken responsibility for what he did after he came to his senses.

He said: “It is a much less serious offence that what it might have been and is an example of the things that can happen when people have too much to drink.”

Grieve, who admitted wounding, was given six month’s detention in a young offenders institution with the sentence being suspended for 12 months.

The judge said he would be supervised for 12 months, do 150 hours unpaid work and pay £400 compensation.