Man bit Royal British Legion chairman after he was barred from meeting

Peter Elliott became famous for fortifying his former home in Appleby during a bizarre divorce battle in 2016.

He moved to Cornwall after that case and was living in Newquay when he was filmed on CCTV and mobile phones during an incident in which he bit two people, including the club chairman.

The 56-year-old claimed he acted in self-defence but a jury at Truro Crown Court convicted him on two counts of assault causing actual bodily harm after a trial.

Elliott, of Newquay, Cornwall, was jailed for six months, suspended for two years, and made subject to a three-year restraining order banning him from going to the Newquay branch of the club and some of its members.

Judge Simon Carr told him: "It was an extremely unpleasant assault."

Prosecutor Miss Katie Churcher said Elliott carried out the attacks last August and told the jury: "He admits biting them but says it was in self-defence.

"The defendant was not a member and had been banned so wasn't welcome. The prosecution says he wasn't entitled to be there and wanted to cause a confrontation."

Club chairman Jon Goodman tried to get Elliott to leave and stop him gaining access to the meeting upstairs in the club, the court heard.

As Elliott was being blocked from the stairs, he lunged and bit Mr Goodman's hand causing it to bleed, it was said.

A second person, Annie Swan, heard raised voices and she was also bitten by Elliott as she tried to help.

Elliott claimed he was unlawfully restrained and attacked as a result of bad blood between him and Mr Goodman.

Elliott made headlines in 2016 when he spent four years barricaded inside a farmhouse which he lost during a bitter divorce battle that ended up with him being arrested after the High Court issued a warrant.

He transformed the £500,000 property set in 70 acres in Appleby into a fortress and surrounded it with barbed wire, tree branches and fitted CCTV cameras following a bitter £6 million split with ex wife Leonie Butler.