Wedding Usher, Who Was 'Behaving Like a Wild Animal,’ Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison After Biting Off Groom’s Uncle’s Finger By Kimberlee Speakman

A U.K. man was sentenced to five years in prison after biting off the finger of a guest at his best friend’s wedding. 

Judge Ian Pringle KC handed down the sentence to 33-year-old Daniel Peasnell, who was found guilty of grievous bodily harm in Oxford Crown Court on Thursday, Dec. 18, according to The Telegraph, Echo News and the Daily Mail.

Peasnell was arrested and charged after biting the fingers of Stephen Dixon, the uncle of his best friend, Peter Green, during an altercation that occurred in May 2023, per the outlets. The incident reportedly left Dixon with one of his fingers amputated.

Peasnell, a father of four, also threatened to bite off a police officer’s nose after he was taken to the hospital that day, allegedly telling him, per The Telegraph, “get off my arms or I will bite your f—— nose off.”

The judge said during the sentencing that the 33-year-old began drinking earlier in the day prior to Green’s wedding, where he served as an usher. He said Peasnell continued to drink during the proceedings, and then got into a fight with his ex-girlfriend and was “ejected” from the wedding — which was something he “didn’t take kindly to.”

Pringle said Peasnell then got into a fight with the wedding organizer and a member of staff. While outside the venue, he insisted that his friend come out and speak to him, and things escalated from there.

“You thought he would be kind to you and invite you back inside. He described your behaviour that evening as behaving like a wild animal,” Pringle said, per The Telegraph and Echo News.

“When it was clear he was not going to invite you back inside, you became angry and a fight broke out,” the judge added.

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At that point, Dixon and his son stepped in to “try and keep Peasnell quiet until the police arrived.” The pair got on top of him and held him down. Just as police arrived, Peasnell bit Dixon’s finger “so hard it broke his bone,” Pringle said.

Police-worn body cameras caught the aftermath of the altercation, including a man shouting, “He’s bit half his finger off!” and a woman screaming, “Oh my God!” The video then showed an officer holding Peasnell down as he asked, “Can you get an ambulance as well? I think someone’s finger’s been bitten off,” according to a video obtained by Echo Essex.

Peasnell was then heard telling the officer, “I don’t know what I’ve done wrong… Who have I assaulted?”

Peasnell had denied causing grievous bodily harm in court, though he admitted to other charges of fighting in a public space and threatening an officer. His attorney argued that the 33-year-old reacted in “self-defence” to what was happening. 

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“It is plain Mr. Dixon was trying his best to get his hand released,” Pringle said, per The Telegraph. “[Peasnell] used his mouth as a highly dangerous weapon to maim Mr. Dixon’s fingers — plural.”

The judge said Dixon sustained a fracture to the bone at the end of his left middle finger, and the top of his next finger was “missing.” He noted that Dixon’s “left middle finger also had to be partially amputated” after the conflict. 

As he sentenced Peasnell, Pringle told him, per Echo News: “You say you are deeply ashamed and disgusted at how you acted. Your big problem is to realize that alcohol and you are incompatible.”