Sentencing 32-year-old Christopher Cairns, Judge Emma Peters said he had got out of his van outside the victim’s home and had punched him and bitten his ear.
She said: “Biting is an extremely dangerous thing to do and can cause serious injury. It was the wrong thing to do.”
She said that the person responsible for the incident at Cairns’ home may not have been the person he attacked and injured.
Cairns, of Elm Wood Drive, West Mersea, admitted an offence of wounding and was given an eight-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months and ordered to do 160 hours unpaid work.
He was also ordered to pay £750 compensation to the victim and £200 costs and was banned from contacting the victim for five years.
Benedict Peers, prosecuting, said the victim, his brother and another man had been driving round Mersea Island and one of them had thrown a stone at a window of Cairns’ house.
“This was the catalyst for the offence that took place,” said Mr Peers.
He said that Cairns had pulled up in his van and approached the victim and was angry and shouting: “Which one of you threw a rock at my window?”
“The person who may well have thrown it wasn’t there,” said Mr Peers.
Cairns grabbed the victim’s clothing and they both ended up on the ground, with Cairns on top of the victim as a fence broke.
The victim’s brother started punching Cairns to get him off his brother and during the course of the incident Cairns bit the victim on his left ear causing a cut which caused some disfigurement.
He also suffered cuts and grazes to his body from the broken fence which ended up between him and Cairns.
Sasha Bailey, for Cairns, said her client had no previous convictions and worked as a plumber.