A MAN today admitted biting off his best friend's nose in a fight.
John Brash, 20, who is a former male model, now has to wear a silicon nose and faces painful reconstructive surgery following the attack by his school friend Charles Cassidy near Edinburgh in February.
The pair were friends since childhood who gre
w up together in Tranent and worked together, Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard today.
They began fighting at a party the night before the incident on February 23 this year, when Cassidy squeezed hair removing cream on to Mr Brash's head.
Hours later, after Mr Brash had gone home, Cassidy, 20, telephoned him and said he wanted to finish the episode by having "a square go".
Mr Brash agreed and they met at Coalgate roundabout in Tranent and began punching each other.
The court heard Cassidy knocked his friend to the ground then straddled him, prompting Mr Brash to call him "an animal" to which Cassidy replied: "I'll show you an animal".
Fiscal depute Gillian More said: "The accused leaned forward, placed his mouth over Mr Brash's nose, bit down hard with his teeth and continued that action for approximately one minute until the nasal tip of Mr Brash's nose ripped off.
"Mr Cassidy stood up and allowed Mr Brash to get up because he was bleeding profusely from his nose and made his way to the pavement where he collapsed.
"Mr Cassidy used his top to attempt to stem the profuse bleeding to the severe wound in Mr Brash's face."
The fiscal depute said Cassidy had tried to get ice to put on his friend's nose and drove him to accident and emergency at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary instead of waiting on an ambulance.
Mr Brash was found to have an amputated nasal tip and was referred to the St John's Hospital in Livingston for specialist treatment.
An operation to reattach the nose the following day failed and skin was taken from Mr Brash's thigh for a temporary graft on to his nose.
He spent six days in hospital and is due to return for more extensive reconstructive surgery in August.
"Further surgery will be required in order to attempt to recreate a nose," added Mrs More.
She said Mr Brash now wears a silicon nose which he has to attach every day using surgical glue and is now scared to go outside because people stare at him.
He is also unable to return to work in the near future and is being supported by his father, the fiscal depute added.
Cassidy, a prisoner at Edinburgh, pleaded guilty to assault to severe injury and permanent disfigurement and has been remanded in custody until sentencing next month.
Speaking from his Tranent home, Mr Brash said he was trying to put the attack behind him in spite of his horrific injuries.
He said: "It was just a moment of anger but I will just have to live with this.
"I don't care what people think and I want to get on with my life. I have done some male modelling before but I won't be able to do any of that again now."
John added that Cassidy had apologised for the attack but the pair were no longer friends and he was glad he was behind bars
The full article contains 555 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
