A MAN attacked a “friend” in his own home after entering uninvited while the victim slept, a court was told.

Mark Yarrow gouged the waking man’s eyes with his thumbs, bit his nose and then tried to unleash an ornamental samurai sword.

But as he struggled to release the weapon from its scabbard, his sister entered the house to help bring the incident to a close, ushering Yarrow from the premises.

Durham Crown Court heard that the victim, who considered himself “a friend” of Yarrow, believed his unexpected attack stemmed from an unconnected incident two years beforehand, which he thought was, “water under the bridge”.

Thirty-eight-year-old Yarrow, of Tudhoe Moor, Spennymoor, admitted a charge of unlawful wounding, stemming from the attack at the victim’s nearby home, on August 13 last year.

He was today (Monday April 20) jailed for 20 months, after a judge described it as a “sustained” attack, using his teeth as, “the equivalent of a weapon”.

Sam Faulks, prosecuting, said the victim, a factory worker, had gone for a few drinks after work and fell asleep on his return home.

“When he came round he saw the defendant standing in his living room, bare-chested, with what appeared to be a ‘mad’ stare about him.”

Mr Faulks said the victim, who had known Yarrow for much of his life and considered him a friend, was not expecting him in his home at that time.

Yarrow began the attack by punching him, before gouging his thumbs into his eyes, almost simultaneously biting his nose.

Although Yarrow was pushed away, he then spotted the ornamental sword, and tried to unleash it, damaging the laminate flooring in the process.

It was then that his sister entered and helped to bring the incident to an end.

Mr Faulks said the victim was treated in hospital for a deep wound to the cartilage of the nose, leaving him potentially permanently scarred.

The defendant was arrested in the early hours of August 14 and appeared heavily intoxicated having mixed alcohol with medication, and, when interviewed, presented a statement claiming to have no memory of the incident.

Ian West, for Yarrow, presented three character testimonials to the court on his behalf.

He told the court the whole incident lasted barely a matter of minutes, and was his first offence for “significant violence” in a dozen years.

Jailing Yarrow, Judge Christopher Prince said: “I take the view this could properly be described as a sustained attack with use of the teeth as the equivalent of using a weapon.”