A woman bit off a part of a man's tongue, only for a seagull to swoop down and fly off with it.
James McKenzie has been left maimed for life after he became involved with an altercation with Bethany Ryan, 27, which resulted in her biting off his tongue.
McKenzie then saw the horrific sight of a seagull picking up his severed tongue and flying off with it, the Daily Record reports.
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The incident took place on the evening on 1 August 2019, when McKenzie and Ryan, who were unknown to each other, got into a row on Leith Walk in Scotland.
Prosecutor Susan Dickson told Edinburgh Crown Court that McKenzie had approached the woman with a 'clenched fist' and she 'somewhat oddly' reacted by pushing him and then kissing him.
Dickson said: "She kissed him on the lips and bit through his tongue, which caused a piece to be removed.
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"Mr McKenzie walked off and spat it out, at which point the piece of muscle was picked up by a large seagull that made off with it."
McKenzie was rushed to hospital with the 'oozing' wound, but he did not undergo surgery because the piece of tongue was not around.
The court heard: "He did not require surgery given the piece of tongue was no longer available and could not be reattached."
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Dickson said the incident left McKenzie permanently impaired after losing the piece of tongue, which was around 2cm to 3cm in size.
Ryan pled guilty to assault by pushing, kissing and biting off a bit of his tongue, as well as to permanent disfigurement.
Defence solicitor Neil Martin said the attack was 'a very strange incident in the round'.
Martin said he would save his full mitigation for sentencing, which has been delayed until later on this year.
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Sheriff Nigel Ross said that 'because of the serious nature of the incident', he needed to defer the sentencing until later this year, so there is time for the preparation of reports.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: UK News, Animals, Scotland