Man bites off pigeon's head in drunk prank

A British soldier who bit off a live pigeon's head after an all-day drinking session was tracked down after police analysed DNA found in bite marks on the bird's neck.

Royal Marine commando Adam Karmali, 33, plead guilty to the crime but has been spared jail, reports the South Wales Evening Post.

Karmali swilled around 20 cans of beer while visiting friends in Cardiff, Wales, ending the bender by catching a live pigeon in the street and posing for photos with the bird's head in his mouth.

He finished the stunt by biting off the pigeon's head and spitting it on the ground, a Welsh court heard.

An "appalled" witness called authorities, who were disgusted by what Karmali described as a "prank".

"This was a sickening offence carried out while drunk," said prosecutor Mike Curry.

Karmali's defence team agreed it was "clearly an unacceptable and repulsive act".

But his lawyers argued he was "ashamed" of the act and had shown remorse by pleading guilty, and that he should not be jailed because it might cost him his career in the armed forces.

"He would never normally behave that way and he feels extreme remorse and shame," said his solicitor Monique McKevitt.

A panel of Cardiff magistrates agreed, sentencing him to a 12-month community order.

Author: Sam Downing. Approving editor: Simon Black.