KEY POINTS:
A man who broke into a Napier home today bit off part of the homeowner's left ear off during a violent struggle.
Police later found the piece of ear on a blood- spattered duvet and rushed it to Hawke's Bay Hospital where a surgeon sewed it back on.
The victim was a Hawke's Bay Today reporter, Doug Laing, who was still stunned this morning at the suddenness and severity of the home invasion.
Speaking from hospital, where he was awaiting further specialist treatment for the ear as well as an eye injury after the attacker tried to gouge it out, he said the man "said nothing and took nothing".
"He was growling like an animal when he came in ... I could see he just wanted to attack me," he said.
As Mr Laing today recovered from his ordeal, saying he was in no hurry to return home "while that guy's out there", police launched an appeal for information.
"This was a nasty attack," Napier police Senior Sergeant Mal Lochrie said. "We want to hear from anybody in the area who may have seen or heard anything suspicious."
Mr Laing said he had arrived home after a meeting and had been lying on the couch watching television when he heard a smashing noise, coming from the front door, about 12.30am.
"He just burst in and attacked me ... I was just getting up off the couch."
The shirtless attacker, who Mr Laing described as having a heavy build, lunged straight at him. He tried to throttle him - at the same time digging a thumb into one of his eye sockets.
"I was struggling for my life ... I thought I was a goner," he said.
Feeling a searing pain from the left side of his head he realised the man had bitten a large chunk of his ear off.
He later told police that the missing part of his ear would be somewhere in the living room. A constable found it and it was rushed to the hospital.
However, there are fears the damage was so great he may lose it.
Mr Laing said he fought back and managed to bite one of his attacker's fingers.
It was only when the man let go and ran up a hallway that he was able to make his escape.
"I thought he had gone toward the kitchen to get a knife or something - I just got out of there and ran up the street yelling for help."
He looked back and saw the man running from his house.
Lights went on in one nearby house and a young couple went to his aid. He called police who were quickly on the scene but there was no sign of the attacker.
Mr Laing said he did not recognise the man.
- HAWKE'S BAY TODAY
