A fisherman has been jailed for eight months after admitting assaulting a fellow crewman by biting him in the cheek like “an animal holds on to its prey”.
Mark Davison, a prisoner in Aberdeen, was described as a “violent and dangerous individual” when he appeared from custody at Lerwick Sheriff Court yesterday.
It took crew members at least 30 seconds to get Davison, 44, off his victim. They eventually managed to restrain him before calling the police.
The assault happened on the UK registered scallop fishing boat King Explorer while working 30 miles south of Scalloway, on July 22.
The resulting wound had to be cleared and the victim had to take antibiotics and anti-viral drugs against a potential Hepatitis B and HIV infection.
The court heard how Davison, a new crew member on the scalloper, got embroiled in an argument with a younger Polish crew member whose job it was to train him.
Describing the assault graphically, fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said Davison first punched the man and then “attached himself to the man’s cheek and not let go, like an animal holds on to its prey.”
Defence solicitor Tommy Allan said Davison, a father of three from Plymouth, felt isolated on the fishing vessel when he realised that he was the only British person among a Polish crew.
It didn’t get off to a good start and there was animosity against his client, he said.
Mr Allan added that his client felt sorry for the assault and said it shouldn’t have happened.
Imposing a custodial sentence, Sheriff Philip Mann said this had been an “appalling assault”, and that he could see from Davison’s long criminal record that he was a “violent and dangerous individual”.
He backdated the jail term to October 9, the date Davison was taken into custody.
