A DRUNKEN reveller who bit one bouncer and punched another after he was ejected from a Worcester bar has had an appeal against his conviction thrown out.

Christopher Ball attacked two bouncers in Bolero in Worcester after a drunken day out watching a Worcester Warriors rugby match, a court heard.

The 36-year-old appealed against his conviction for the two assaults at the popular bar in Foregate Street when he appeared at Worcester Crown Court, claiming he had been punched and his mouth had been 'gouged' by door staff during the incident on March 12, 2016.

However, Judge Robert Juckes QC, sitting with one of the magistrates who imposed the original sentence, rejected Ball's appeal at a hearing on Friday and said he must have had at least nine pints of lager before he even left the Warriors ground to go to Bolero, where he ordered more lager.

Ball was convicted at Worcester Magistrates Court on May 25, 2016 after Abdennaceur Chattaoui was bitten on his thumb and Dritan Tabaku received a punch to his forehead, leaving a mark above his left eye.

Photographs of the injuries to both men and CCTV footage of the incident were shown to the judge before he and the magistrate reached a decision on the appeal.

Ball, of Drake Street, Welland, gave evidence from the witness box, claiming he had been assaulted and had only wanted to know what had happened to his friends who had already been told to leave Bolero.

He said he had been part of a group of 10 watching Worcester Warriors play rugby from a box at Sixways Stadium, arriving at the ground at around noon.

Ball stayed to watch a Six Nations match on television, drinking 'seven pints of lager or more' before he and a group of friends got a taxi into the city centre, arriving at Bolero at around 7pm.

The group came to the attention of staff when a plant was damaged at the back of the bar and some of Ball's friends were asked to leave.

Ball said he went to the door to see if his friends had left to go somewhere else or were coming back inside and 'to see what was going on' because he could hear shouting and swearing outside.

At this stage door staff were trying to close the gates using a pin mechanism. Ball admitted he had his hand on the gate, trying to keep it open.

He said: "It all happened very quickly. The bouncers came and pushed me out.

"Whilst I was being pushed out I had hands pushed in my face and my mouth gouged. It wasn't very nice."

Ball said the gates were closed behind him and he tried to push them open, admitting that he attempted to 'lunge' at door staff.

However, he denied punching or biting anyone but conceded he had been angry for a moment, claiming that Mr Chattaoui had punched him.

He told the court that police arrived in three to four minutes and he was arrested and placed in the police van, kept in overnight and interviewed 20 hours later when he was sober.

Patrick Kelly, prosecuting, told Ball he had been drunk and that CCTV showed him performing a 'one legged stagger'.

He said: "You started fighting, didn't you? The bouncer stepped away from you and you turned and you attacked. You were drunk and started to get angry."

But Ball said he did not bite anyone deliberately. He said: "I would not say I was biting. He was pushing me. He had his fingers in my mouth."

Conrad Gaad, defending, argued that the descriptions given by staff of Ball as being 6ft tall and aged in his early 40s did not match Ball's appearance as he was younger and only 5ft 10ins.

Judge Juckes rejected the defence argument that this was a case of mistaken identity and said in fact Ball stood out on the CCTV because of his striking dark hair and distinctive blue pullover.

He said the men Ball assaulted had both been 'highly impressive witnesses' who had been 'very clear in their evidence about what must have been a confusing scene and a difficult scene'.

He added: "We have seen their demeanour at the time of handling this and the striking thing is the contrast between those who were trying to get the trouble makers out and those who were the trouble makers, trying to get back into the club."

Judge Juckes said the injury to Mr Chattaoui showed a 'marked bite' and that use of the teeth was a 'weapon' and could have resulted in a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

"We have no hesitation in dismissing this appeal," he said.

Judge Juckes and the magistrate agreed not to vary the original sentence which was a 12-month community order with 250 hours of unpaid work, £200 compensation for Mr Chattaoui and £100 for Mr Tabaku.

Ball must pay £1,015 court costs for the appeal.