British tourist arrested for biting off father-in-law's thumb in Mallorca hotel

Police have arrested a British holidaymaker who bit off his father-in-law’s thumb during a fight at their Mallorca hotel.

The 65-year-old victim needed hospital treatment for his injuries which also included a head wound and a deep cut to his nose.

Police arrested his 42-year-old son-in-law after arriving at the reception of the hotel in Sa Coma on Mallorca’s east coast to find the older man covered in blood.

There was also blood in the hotel corridor and inside the room where the fight is said to have taken place where a lamp had been broken and furniture displaced.

The arrest was made for a suspected crime of serious bodily harm, shortly after the alarm was raised on Sunday night.

The motive of the violent altercation is not yet clear.

Police sources in Sant Llorenç des Cardassar, the municipality Sa Coma is part of, said on Monday: “The incident occurred around 10.40pm yesterday, when local police received a report of a fight inside a hotel.

“Several police units attended the scene, where they found a 65-year-old British man, the alleged attacker's father-in-law, in the hotel reception with significant amounts of blood on him and serious injuries.

“Officers immediately requested medical assistance. The injured man was treated by an ambulance crew and later taken to Manacor hospital.

“As a result of the assault, the victim suffered an open head wound, a deep cut to the nose, and the traumatic amputation of the distal phalanx of the left thumb after it was bitten off during the altercation.”

“During the intervention, officers carried out an initial inspection of the room where the incident allegedly took place.

“They found substantial amounts of blood in the corridor and inside the room, as well as displaced furniture, a broken lamp, and other evidence consistent with a violent confrontation.

“The initial police investigation, together with statements gathered from those present and the evidence observed at the scene, enabled officers to identify the alleged attacker, who was arrested on suspicion of causing serious bodily harm.”