Retired Priest, 80, Bites 81-Year-Old Fellow Clergyman's Ear Off

A retired priest allegedly had his ear bitten off in an unholy punch-up with another retired clergyman. Father Thomas Byrne, 80, told Father Thomas Smith, 81, to pick the flesh up off the ground and put it in his pocket after the brawl on Friday in Perth, Australia, according to police. But it was only when Father Smith returned to his retirement flat and pulled it out of his pocket that he realised it was his right ear, East Perth Magistrates Court heard. The court was told that a violent brawl broke out at the retirement home complex in the Perth suburb of Dianella over a parking spot. Police told the court that it took some time for Father Smith to realise his ear had been bitten off. Once he realised that the flesh was his ear, Father Smith is said to have wrapped it in a tea towel and driven to a local medical centre, where staff phoned for an ambulance and police. He was kept in Perth�s Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital after surgery to try to save the severed ear.