A Marlow man who bit his victim’s face during a brawl outside of a kebab van has avoided jail.

Caen Serpa-Hodges, aged 25, of Cresswell Row in Marlow, appeared at Wycombe Magistrates’ Court today (Monday) where he pleaded guilty to charges of actual bodily harm and assault.

The court heard how on September 18 last year, at around 11.45pm, the two victims and a friend of Serpa-Hodges got into an argument over skipping the queue at a kebab van in Marlow.

Following the argument, the man left and then returned with Serpa-Hodges and after some words were exchanged a fight started.

The court heard how during the fight Serpa-Hodges bit one of the victims, Greg Williams, between his lip and his nose, causing him to bleed inside and outside of his mouth.

Serpa-Hodges also assaulted a second victim, Tom Cocking.

The court heard how Mr Williams had called the police after the incident and then took himself to A&E, where he had to receive a vaccination for Hepatitis B because of the bite.

A personal impact statement from Mr Williams, who is in the RAF, outlined how the incident had left him with anxiety and had severely affected his life.

Serpa-Hodges’s lawyer told the court that his client had reacted when he thought he heard one of the victims use a homophobic slur towards him, but accepted that his actions were “unwarranted”.

Sentencing, the magistrates gave Serpa-Hodges a six-month prison sentence, suspended for six months. He will also have to pay £500 compensation and £215 costs, as well as having to complete 150 hours of unpaid work.