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

A man in the U.K. has been sentenced to five years in prison after biting off part of another guest’s finger during a drunken altercation at his best friend’s wedding.

Judge Ian Pringle KC sentenced 33-year-old Daniel Peasnell after a jury found him guilty of grievous bodily harm at Oxford Crown Court on Thursday, Dec. 18, according to The Telegraph, Echo News and the Daily Mail.

The case stems from an incident in May 2023 at the wedding of Peasnell’s best friend, Peter Green, where Peasnell was serving as an usher. Authorities said Peasnell bit the fingers of Stephen Dixon — Green’s uncle — during a fight, leaving Dixon with an amputation, per the outlets.

After being arrested, Peasnell also threatened a police officer at the hospital, allegedly saying, according to The Telegraph, “get off my arms or I will bite your f—— nose off.”

In sentencing remarks, Pringle said Peasnell had been drinking earlier in the day and continued throughout the wedding. The judge said Peasnell argued with his ex-girlfriend, was then removed from the event, and “didn’t take kindly” to being ejected.

Pringle said Peasnell later clashed with the wedding organizer and a staff member outside the venue and demanded that Green come out to speak to him. According to Pringle, Peasnell appeared to expect his friend to calm the situation and allow him back inside.

“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.

Dixon and his son then stepped in, attempting to restrain Peasnell until police arrived, the judge said. While they held him down, Peasnell bit Dixon’s finger with such force that it broke the bone, Pringle told the court.

Body-worn police camera footage captured the immediate aftermath, including a man shouting, “He’s bit half his finger off!” and a woman screaming, “Oh my God!” The footage also shows an officer asking for an ambulance and stating that “someone’s finger’s been bitten off,” according to video obtained by Echo Essex.

In the video, Peasnell is also heard saying, “I don’t know what I’ve done wrong… Who have I assaulted?”

Peasnell denied grievous bodily harm at trial but admitted to other offenses, including fighting in a public place and threatening an officer. His lawyer argued he acted in self-defense.

“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 injure Dixon’s fingers, the judge added.

Pringle said Dixon suffered a fracture at the end of his left middle finger and that the top of the adjacent finger was “missing.” Dixon’s left middle finger later required partial amputation, the judge noted.

As he handed down the sentence, Pringle told Peasnell, 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.”