A VICIOUS North-East stalker branded one of the most dangerous men in Britain was last night locked up in the country's highest security hospital.

Psychiatrists warned that Robert Sowden was so violent other institutions could not cope with him.

A judge described Sowden as "a great danger to the public" after hearing how he bit off his girlfriend Kirstine McIntyre's ear and ripped a chunk out of a policeman's leg as he was arrested.

Since then the 27-year-old has assaulted fellow prisoners, warders and staff at the secure psychiatric ward where he was held before standing trial.

Sowden, of Gilling Crescent, Darlington, now faces years in a secure unit at Rampton Mental Hospital, without a limit on his release, because of his unstable mental state.

Teesside Crown Court heard of the shocking catalogue of attacks Sowden had inflicted on his victims.

His 28-year-old girlfriend was so terrified that she took out an injunction against him in January to stop him stalking her.

But weeks later he smashed his way into her home in Darlington, threatening "You're overstepping the mark, I'm going to kill you stone dead."

Then he bit off a third of her right ear and stepped back so she could see it in his mouth, said prosecutor John Gillette.

The attack, which left Miss McIntyre terrified, was witnessed by her 11-year-old son. It has also left her scarred for life.

When a policeman turned up to arrest Sowden, he bit his leg.

The court heard Miss McIntyre and Sowden, who began a relationship in December 1999, had a stormy relationship which resulted in acts of violence and aggression.

Psychiatrist Dr Richard Pyatt, who studied the 27-year-old at St Luke's Hospital, Middlesbrough, after he was transferred from Holme House prison, Stockton, said: "The more one gets to know about him the more one realises the danger of this man to others.

"He is a significant danger to staff. I have worked in high security and, even within that, he would be a difficult man to deal with."

Powerfully-built Sowden was diagnosed with a severe personality disorder, and paranoid psychosis.

He had previous convictions for robbery, actual bodily harm, assault, criminal damage and resisting police.

In June 2000, Sowden and his brother, Matthew, beat up David Stephens at the Wheatsheaf pub in Darlington.

The pair punched middle-aged Mr Stephens in the face and kicked him up to 25 times after Robert Sowden remarked that Mr Stephens had chased him home when he was 14. He was jailed for seven months for the attack.

Judge Michael Taylor last night branded him a "great danger to the public".

He said: "There are only two sentences - life imprisonment because he is profoundly dangerous, or a hospital order.

"I am primarily here concerned with the protection of the public, and I include in that the inmates and the staff of the establishment he is in at the moment. But there is clearly no alternative to long-term detention and treatment."

Peter Makepeace, defending, said two psychiatrists recommended that Sowden should be detained indefinitely in hospital.

"There are members of the public who might consider this a soft option but this disposal is very draconian and it is designed for treatment and assistance," he said.

"This type of order is designed for the most dangerous offenders and for trying to treat the underlying mental illness that exists."

Sowden pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm on February 18.

He was remanded in custody for two months till a place in a top security hospital could be found.