A KARAOKE night ended in uproar after a drunk contestant was told to keep quiet during other performances, a court was told.

A brawl broke out, with people piled on top of each other, and a man had his thumb bitten so hard he needed reconstructive surgery, Durham Crown Court heard.

Ian Donoghue, 36, of Burn Valley Gardens, Station Town, near Peterlee, County Durham, admitted causing grievous bodily harm and was jailed for 18 months.

Caroline Goodwin, prosecuting, said the incident happened during a karaoke competition at The Fleming Hotel, Shotton Colliery, in March.

"The defendant sang and people listened to him, but the same courtesy was not extended by the defendant when other people were singing and this led to the altercation," she said.

A member of a family group at a neighbouring table asked him to be quiet because one of their party was going to sing, but his reaction was "nothing short of rude and aggressive", said Ms Goodwin.

She said that a fight erupted, although the first blow was probably struck by someone else at Donoghue's table.

The victim, who had intervened in the row, was knocked to the ground and found himself fighting the defendant on the floor and a scrum developed.

The victim was bitten on the thumb with "extreme force" and needed reconstructive surgery.

Alec Burn, mitigating, said that Donoghue was very drunk, but had not started the fight himself.