Wigan hospital guard bitten in fracas

Alex Aspey subjected nurses at Wigan Infirmary to a verbal tirade before a prolonged scuffle with guard Philip Ball, after he became angry at his waiting time.

But after being restrained, Aspey, of Bluebell Avenue, sank his teeth into Mr Ball’s arm. The bite was so severe that Mr Ball feared for his health, and had to undergo weeks of tests to ensure he had not contracted any blood borne diseases.

Appearing at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates’ Court, the 22-year-old pleaded guilty to causing actual bodily harm and using threatening and abusive behaviour.

The court heard how Aspey had been taken to the emergency department by paramedics at around 8.30am on April 28, the details of his injuries were not disclosed to the court, other than that he was “bleeding profusely” and appeared to be under the influence of alcohol.

After growing anxious over his own welfare while waiting to be seen, he became abusive to the nursing staff, who told him they would not put up with his behaviour.

When his behaviour continued, Mr Ball approached Aspey and asked him to stop shouting, at which point he pushed Mr Ball and “threatened to knock him out”.

After Aspey began to punch a bottle of hand sanitiser, Mr Ball restrained him, but he broke free and bit Mr Ball’s right arm. He continued to make verbal threats until the police arrived. The incident lasted 12 minutes.

The bench heard how Mr Ball feared for his health following the incident, and was given tetanus jabs and antibiotics as a precaution.

In a victim impact statement, Mr Ball said: “All I want is to go to work safely and come home.”

Justices decided the incident was so serious that their sentencing powers were insufficient. They referred the case to Bolton Crown Court, where Aspey will be sentenced on June 6.