Chloe Hammond, 27, also known as Chloe Rebelle, lunged at 56-year-old Julie Holloway before biting down on her ear ‘like a dog with a chew toy’ on London’s Embankment
A glamour model, who bit off part of a woman’s ear after being told off for using her mobile phone at the wheel, has been jailed for five years.
Chloe Hammond, 27, also known as Chloe Rebelle, lunged at 56-year-old Julie Holloway before biting down on her ear ‘like a dog with a chew toy’ on London’s Embankment.
She flew into a rage after Ms Holloway tapped on the window of her Audi TT to remonstrate with her for chatting on the phone in slow-moving traffic.
The model blasted her horn then parked her silver convertible nearby before returning to kick Ms Holloway in the stomach, causing her to double over.
Hammond, from Rayleigh in Essex, then grabbed Ms Holloway’s hair and bit into her ear as the victim’s horrified friends Michael Gallego and Stephen Vernon looked on.
Ms Holloway, who was crossing the road from the Walkabout bar to a Soul Boat party, did not realise part of her ear was missing ‘until someone picked it up off the floor’.
She wept as she explained from behind screens how she has since undergone reconstructive surgery following the incident which was captured on CCTV and mobile phones on March 19.
Hammond – who sports tattoos of roses on her right arm as well as wings across her chest – claimed she acted in self-defence and offered to take a lie detector test to prove her honesty.
But she was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm with intent after a trial at Southwark Crown Court in October.
Judge Philip Bartle QC jailed her for five years today and told her: ‘On that day you were driving on the Embankment alone in your car – Julie Holloway tapped on your window to say that you were using your phone.
‘You became aggressive and angry, you opened your window and you were verbally abusive to Ms Holloway who continued to walk to the other side of the road.
‘You then stopped your car in the middle of the road and in traffic, you got out of your car and you walked towards Ms Holloway.
‘I am sure that you continued to be angry as many of the prosecution witnesses said – one of them said ‘she looked as though she was going with a purpose, she was on a mission.’
The judge accepted that she was ‘genuinely remorseful’ for the ‘appalling’ attack and noted that she has no previous convictions.
Hammond – who sports tattoos of roses on her right arm as well as wings across her chest – claimed she acted in self-defence and offered to take a lie detector test to prove her honesty
But a jury of ten women and two men took just 90 minutes to convict Hammond of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
She had already admitted a lesser alternative of unlawful wounding prior to the trial but that plea was not accepted by the prosecution.
Ms Holloway had told the court she was verbally abused by Hammond before she ‘came out of nowhere’ and kicked her in the stomach.
‘I do recall coming forward and then the next thing I know, she grabbed both sides of my head and then she lunged into my ear,’ she said.
‘I felt her bite my ear. I couldn’t get her off me because she just lunged on to my ear.’
She said she was in such ‘shock’ she did not initially notice when Hammond escaped.
The judge accepted that she was ‘genuinely remorseful’ for the ‘appalling’ attack and noted that she has no previous convictions
‘It was chaos at the time, because my ear was on the floor.
‘I didn’t know what had really happened to me at the time. I didn’t grasp what had actually happened.
‘There was blood all over me, there was blood all over one of the girls and I just didn’t know that my ear had gone missing as such until someone picked it up off the floor.
‘It’s quite disturbing to say the least.’
Hammond drove off but voluntarily attended an interview at Charing Cross Police Station two days later.
She accused Ms Holloway of ‘banging on her vehicle causing dents to the side’ as well as calling her a ‘Botox bitch’.
Giving evidence, Hammond claimed to have ‘blacked out’ during the skirmish and did not even realise an ear had been bitten.
She said: ‘In fact I was self-defending myself, someone grabbed my breast and that was enough for me.
‘I did not want to fight, I wanted to walk away. I do not accept lying because I was telling the full honest truth.
‘I accept what happened but I do not accept I intended to do this to Julie.’
The court was told Hammond has a history of depression, a lack of self-worth and has been involved in abusive relationships.
Helen Jones, defending, said she has been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder following the incident.
‘She is considered a vulnerable young woman, she has endured a great number of traumatic events in her life – your honour has seen the letter before you.
‘She is quite clearly extremely remorseful, she is quite clear that this is an isolated incident – she is suffering from nightmares and has replayed this incident over and over.’