A 25-YEAR-OLD man has been cleared of unlawful wounding after he bit a man's ear during a brawl at a Didcot pub.

Martin Rendell, of Prestwick Burn, Didcot, admitted he bit Joe Betteridge's ear at the Broadways pub at about 2am on July 12 last year but claimed he acted in self defence.

Jurors unanimously found him not guilty of one count of unlawful wounding yesterday[dec8] after a two-day trial.

Rendell told a jury of eight women and four men at Oxford Crown Court on Tuesday he was walking through the pub when the pair bumped and he heard Mr Betteridge shouting and swearing at him.

He said he felt a punch to the left side of his face and immediately started fighting with Mr Betteridge before the pair fell to the ground.

The defendant, who had been drinking Ciroc, said he was "shocked" at how aggressive Mr Betteridge seemed and got him in a headlock to "calm him down".

Rendell said he could not breathe when Mr Betteridge had him in a "good grip" and was unable to get free.

He added: "I was angry, I was scared. I did not know what to think, what was going to happen. The only thing I could do was bite out.

"It was just a quick bite, a little bite like a dog would do. I could taste it. I just felt physically sick. Fight of flight took over - I just had to do something to get out of the situation."

Prosecutor Jerome Silva: "You were on top of him, your body weight was on top of him but your only option in these circumstances was to bite him?"

Rendell, who said he weighed 14 stone at the time, replied: "That's it, you've got it."