A CARMARTHENSHIRE tattooist who forced an ornamental samurai sword into a friend's mouth during a drunken row has been sent to prison for three years.

During the attack, Richard Paul Gallear also hit victim Aaron Knight on the head with the weapon, a court heard.

The violence erupted at Gallear's home at Trilwm, Trimsaran, when the two men fell out after a drinking session.

The incident last summer was described when the 35-year-old defendant pleaded guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm.

Prosecutor Nicola Powell told Swansea Crown Court that tattooist Gallear had travelled to Gwent on August 25 in order to remove a tattoo from the body of Newport man Mr Knight.

But after half of the tattoo was removed, the two friends went on a drinking a session and Mr Knight decided to travel by train with Gallear to Carmarthenshire.

In Llanelli, they got a taxi to Trimsaran, and were joined at the defendant's home by a friend of his, Helen Lloyd, said Miss Powell.

But when a heated argument broke out between the two men in the early hours of the morning, Gallear lost his temper, grabbed a samurai sword which was on display in a lounge cabinet and forced it into Mr Knight's mouth.

Then, after pulling the sword out, Gallear butted Mr Knight in the face and slammed the sword against the lounge door to prevent anyone from leaving.

However, Miss Lloyd did manage to escape, the court heard.

Gallear then raised the sword and brought it down on the top of Mr Knight's head, causing a five- centimetre cut that required three stitches.

In hospital, Mr Knight also received treatment for a number of facial injuries, the court heard.

After being arrested, Gallear said he did not think he had a sword and described the incident as a "drunken blur".

Kevin Riordan, in mitigation, emphasised that Gallear had entered his guilty plea at an early stage of the court proceedings

Sentencing, Judge Christopher Morton said the attack had been "prolonged" and a prison term was unavoidable.

If Gallear had contested the case and been found guilty by a jury, he said, the sentence would have been four years.

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