A Scottish man was left stunned after a woman bit off his tongue during a street brawl, only to watch a seagull swoop down and eat it.
James McKenzie and Bethaney Ryan were involved in a wild street fight in August 2019 when she leant in to kiss him.
As she leant in she savagely bit down so hard and ripped a chunk of his tongue out, the court heard.
The large gull then flew down and grabbed the fleshy muscle in its beak and then made off before the injured man could retrieve it.
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Advertise with NZME.The incident left McKenzie maimed for life.
Ryan pleaded guilty to assaulting McKenzie in an Edinburgh court hearing last Thursday.
Edinburgh Sheriff Court's prosecutor Susan Dickson said the pair, who were strangers, clashed at the capital's Leith Walk and an argument developed.
Ryan had initially attempted to walk away from the confrontation but McKenzie continued to be aggressive.
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Advertise with NZME.McKenzie approached her again with a clenched fist.
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She then only responded to his actions by pushing him before kissing him.
"She kissed him on the lips and during the course of that she bit through his tongue which caused a piece of his tongue to be removed," Prosecutor Susan Dickson said.
"Mr McKenzie walked off and spat a part of his tongue out at which point the piece of muscle was picked up by a large seagull that made off with the piece of tongue."
The chunk of the dislodged tongue was approximately 2cm by 3cm in size.
Ryan was later arrested by police and McKenzie attended hospital for treatment where "the laceration to his tongue" was said to be "oozing blood".
He did not require surgery as the dislodged piece of tongue was no longer available to be reattached.
