AN actor who bit off part of a pensioner's finger after she bravely tried to stop a fight on a bus has been jailed for four years.

Gary Bradley had already sunk his teeth into a man who went to the aid of a young woman that he was pestering.

A judge told Bradley, 29; "This was an appalling, unprovoked attack on two innocent members of the public who were acting essentially as Good Samaritans."

Lady Rae said at the High Court in Edinburgh: "One was a 43-year-old man who was simply trying to stop you pestering a young woman who was clearly disinterested in your drunken and unwanted attentions.

"The second person was a 64-year-old lady who bravely tried to intervene to stop the fight," she said.

Lady Rae said: "Not satisfied with biting the man, you reacted to her attempts to stop the fight by biting the tip of her finger off, resulting in operative treatment which led to amputation of part of her finger."

The judge told Bradley, formerly of Kylemore Terrace, Greenock, that he would have faced a six-year prison term, but for his early guilty pleas.

She ordered that his four year sentence should run consecutively to a nine-month jail term he is already serving.

Bradley interrupted the judge during her sentencing and announced he wanted to make a public apology.

The judge said she had noted that he recognised he had "anger management issues".

She said: "I also note you are not unintelligent and have a work ethic."

Bradley earlier admitted assaulting Brian Thomas on a bus at Burns Road, in Greenock, on October 22 last year by punching him on the head and repeatedly biting him on the head and body.

He also admitted assaulting Kathleen Hainey to her severe injury and permanent disfigurement by biting her finger.

Bradley, who was previously sentenced to five years detention for serious assault, had been waiting for the bus with his victims when he began talking to a teenage girl. She had tried to ignore him and moved.

When the bus came the passengers boarded and Bradley again tried to chat to Nicole Shirley (19) who continued to ignore him.

Mr Thomas offered to get off at the same stop as the teenager and Bradley became angry.

He punched Mr Thomas who took hold of him to try to stop the attack and during the struggle he bit the older man on the head and on his left forearm.

Mrs Hainey got up from her seat and tried to separate them, but Bradley bit the little finger of her left hand.

He continued to attack Mr Thomas before the driver stopped the bus. Passengers contacted the police who detained Bradley in his bloodstained clothes.

Mr Thomas was taken to hospital and his wounds were cleaned and he was given a tetanus injection. Mrs Hainey was found to have lost the tip of her finger and later underwent surgery. She ultimately lost about an inch of the finger. Defence counsel Thomas Ross said Bradley had trained as a barber and was also working as an actor on a couple of productions which had been filmed locally.

He said he had also been caring for his ill mother.

Mr Ross said: "He was heavily under the influence of alcohol at the time of the offence."

The defence counsel said Bradley's brother had been fatally stabbed in 2013 which led to a man's conviction for culpable homicide.

"He has demonstrated a high level of remorse, particularly towards Kathleen Hainey. He has learnt a lesson," said Mr Ross.