A HOMELESS man who bit a “vulnerable” good samaritan who had offered him a place to stay was caught after leaving his mobile phone at the scene.

Darren Connolly, 39, admitted a charge of unlawful wounding relating to an incident on Fleming Crescent in Haverfordwest on January 22.

The court heard that the victim, aged 54, had limited mobility and a series of health issues that caused him to have no short-term memory.

Prosecutor Dean Pulling said Connolly had been drinking in the same pub as the victim on the evening of January 21, and they did not appear to know each other.

They were seen on CCTV heading towards the taxi rank together at just past midnight on January 22.

  • For the latest crime and court news for West Wales, you can join our Facebook group here.

Mr Pulling said that, at between 1pm and 2pm that day, a neighbour noticed the victim’s front door was open, and could hear him calling for help.

Inside, he found the victim “lying on his bed covered in blood” and with a part of his left cheek missing from what appeared to be a bite mark.

He also had two black eyes, bruising to his arms and pain in his side, back and hip. It was later found that he had suffered a fractured hip.

The neighbour called the victim’s family, and the victim told them he had been beaten up but he couldn’t remember who by.

A phone was found on the bed, and an email notification revealed it was the phone of Darren Connolly.

Officers arrested Connolly in the early hours of the following day at a homeless pod at Nantucket Church in Milford Haven – where he was living at the time. There, they found the victim’s phone – which Connolly had picked up by mistake.

The police also found the victim’s blood on one of Connolly’s jacket.

Mr Pulling said Connolly, who has 43 convictions for 68 offences – including nine for violence, was subject to licence conditions at the time of the attack.

Jon Tarrant, defending, said Connolly had “come to his senses” and admitted the offence shortly before his trial was set to begin.

He suggested that the pair leaving the pub and getting in to a taxi together could have been due to “the good will of the complainant allowing the defendant to stay”.

“Having had the time to reflect on these matters, the defendant feels very guilty and ashamed,” he said.

“Nobody deserves to be treated in the way the complainant was.”

Mr Tarrant said Connolly had recently became a grandfather, and he hoped this would spark a change in the defendant’s mindset.

Connolly was jailed for three years and four months, and the judge – Recorder David Harris – ordered that he will serve a further period of 18 months on extended licence.

The victim was granted a restraining order.