WARNING GRAPHIC CONENT: Christopher Nolan-Barnes, known by his friends as Kit, claims he was trying to break up a fight on New Year's Eve when he was assaulted
The moment a man had his ear bitten off as a fight erupted was caught on camera. Christopher Nolan-Barnes, known by his friends as Kit, met up with his friends at Shenanigans on Tithebarn Street after finishing his shift at The Railway pub on New Year's Eve 2023.
The 25-year-old said he left the busy pub to join his friend outside and this is where a man asked to use his friend's lighter. As Kit returned inside, leaving his friend outside the pub, he said he heard a fight break out.
He told the ECHO how he ran outside to try and break the fight up but was targeted by the stranger, Michael Anthony Byrne, who had originally approached his friend. In a video captured by an onlooker, Kit, who is wearing a white shirt and jeans in the clip, can be seen running into the middle of the brawl as he separates Byrne from the group.
A punch appears to be thrown by Byrne, hitting Kit in the side of the head. The pair can be seen grappling one another and this is the moment Byrne bites part of Kit's ear off.
Later on, another man then joins the pair and pulls Kit from him before attempting to hit him while Byrne kicks him.
Speaking to the ECHO, Kit said: "Someone asked my friend for a lighter and when I went back inside this person attacked my friend.
"I went outside to break the fight up but three people jumped on me and I was kicked and punched.
"Then, in the middle of this, the man who asked for a lighter bit my ear off."
Byrne, 35, of Farnworth Street, Kensington, appeared in Liverpool Crown Court on October 29 having previously pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Here he was handed a 12-month community order, told to pay a £150 fine and £114 victim surcharge as well as to complete 20 days of rehabilitation activities.
He walked free, but Kit, who works as a chef and lives in the city centre, is disfigured for life and was forced to wait almost two years to see his attacker sentenced.
Kit said: "He was meant to be sentenced last year but because of the rioters (in the wake of the Southport stabbing in July 2024) being in court, they pushed the date back. How is that fair? And now he is just free.
"I have so many sleepless nights, I'm anxious just talking about it."
Kit added: "Somebody who takes a part of someone's face getting 12 months and a £150 fine is not good enough."
In the immediate aftermath of the incident, emergency services arrived at the pub and Kit was taken to the Royal Liverpool Hospital where he was tested for hepatitis and told he would be permanently disfigured after the attack.
Fighting tears as he spoke to the ECHO, Kit said: "It's just a constant reminder. You try and do a good thing, I was breaking up a fight, but I end up with half of my ear gone.
"I can't even speak to my mother about it. She doesn't know this has happened, I can't tell her. Can you imagine telling your mother you lost half your ear? It would break her heart."
Kit's mum lives in Morecambe, where he was born and raised before moving to Liverpool four years ago for what he called a "fresh start".
His friend who he had known from his home town got him the job in the city centre but now Kit is living with the worry he will bump into the man that attacked him.
Kit said: "I do not like speaking about this. During the nights after the attack I got three hours' sleep the week after. I still have nightmares.
"I don't feel like it's fair. I work down the road from where it happened and this person lives in Liverpool. How am I meant to not see him? I work in the pub literally down the road from where it happened.
"I felt like I had to come to the ECHO because it's not right. I lost a lot of my ear. I have no confidence. I feel like I can't go out anymore."