Police test ear chunk'

Newcastle police will use DNA tests on a chunk of a man's ear that was spat out by an attacker in a bar fight ­ all in a bid to track down the culprit. Police hope the tests will help catch the man, and four others, who fought with Kevin Morris, a joiner, at the city's Cloth Market Yel Baron on 11 October. The local force believes four men took part in the fight that left Morris and two friends needing hospital treatment. Morris, 20, was punched and kicked before one of the assailants tore a chunk of his ear off and spat it onto the dance floor. Police recovered the damaged ear for DNA testing. Officers have appealed for witnesses and will study CCTV footage from the bar. Jinxed pub burnt down Suspected arsonists have burnt down a jinxed pub in Nottingham ­ just weeks after it survived a petrol bomb attack and was the scene of a separate shooting incident that killed a man. The Sporting Chance was left gutted after the fire on 26 October. The troubled pub had escaped an earlier arson attack on 28 September. It was also the location of the murder of a 22-year-old man on 31 August. There were no casualties from the latest blaze at the venue at Hucknall Road, Bulwell. Jim Gunn, a local fireman, said: "We used thermal imaging equipment and nobody was inside, but it could have been a lot worse." The Nottingham fire service said the fire was deliberately started by someone entering the roof. Cash stolen from pub A man has admitted stealing more than £1,000 from a pub in Burnley, Lancashire. Magistrates heard how James Ellis, of Halliwell Street, Burnley, stole a cash bag containing £1,054 from the Duke pub. Ellis, 51, said he had no idea how much he had stolen, but had spent the money on an alcohol binge in Blackpool. The court heard how the Duke's manager agreed to let Ellis sweep the pub yard in return for "a few pounds". Ellis carried out the job and returned to collect his payment the next day. He managed to steal the cash bag while the manager was counting the takings. Ellis, who had previous convictions for a similar offence, was bailed until 17 November. Drug linked to death A Wigan licensee and former rugby player died as a result of a brain haemorrhage following heart surgery, a Bolton inquest heard. Terrence Dunn, of Bryham Street, a former licensee at the Silverwell Hotel in Salford, was being treated for heart problems at the town's Hope Hospital. Coroners ruled that Dunn, an ex-rugby league player from Salford, had died as a result of side effects from the warfarin drug. The court heard how the anticoagulant drug was prescribed to reduce Dunn's chances of developing a blood clot after his heart surgery in 2002. Coroner Leeming said: "This occurred as a side effect of the necessary treatment given. If he had not been given this it is likely he would have suffered a fatal clot." The coroner recorded a verdict of death by misadventure. Three jailed for murder Three men have received life sentences for murdering a man at a Liverpool pub. Liverpool Crown Court found James Murphy, Lee Cassidy and Peter Heron, all of Grovesnor Road, Wavertree, guilty of shooting Ray Craven, 27, at the Thatched House pub in Wavertree, Merseyside. Two other men, Peter Hogg and John Navis were also injured during the gun attack on 3 December 2002. In sentencing, Judge Mr Justice Leveson said: "The use of firearms causing injury or death has become a real blot on the communal life in this city." Court told of head-butt A man has received a three-month sentence for head-butting a man during a night out in Wigan. Wigan Magistrates' Court heard how Edward Duncan, of Heywood Road, launched a drunken outburst while queuing for a city-centre bar. The prosecution claimed that Duncan had been arguing with a friend when the victim approached in an attempt to calm the situation. The court heard how Duncan then head-butted the 24-year-old.