A pub landlord was savaged by a customer who sank his teeth into his leg and hung on "like a pit bull terrier".

Customers who had been enjoying a performance by Elvis impersonator Ivor Potter watched in horror as the maniac went on to bite two more people in the bizarre attack.

He then dragged landlord David Stocken outside the Marquess of Exeter pub in Upper Hamilton Road, Brighton, where he was set upon by a mob of ten other men.

Mr Stocken ran back inside and made a 999 call as the gang fled.

He was rushed to hospital where doctors stopped the blood flowing from a bite mark on his thigh and gave him an anti-tetanus injection.

As Mr Stocken was being treated in hospital, a man was caught on CCTV returning to the pub and smashing the antique windows with a hammer.

Mr Stocken, who has run the pub for the past six years with his partner Mo Devay, said: "It was just unbelievable. Someone who acts like that is not safe in society, they should be put in a straitjacket."

Police are studying the video footage of the brawl and are appealing for witnesses to call 0845 6070999.

Mr Stocken said: "At first we thought they were Elvis fans because they turned up quite early to get a seat.

"We don't get much trouble here but you have to keep your wits about you around Christmas so I wasn't drinking.

"I saw this group - there must have been nine or ten of them - starting to cause trouble with a group of firemen. I went over to try to sort it out and he just flipped.

"It was like being bitten by a pit bull. He just wouldn't let go. I was in a great deal of pain.

"Eventually I stopped the trouble but as he went out the door he dragged me out with him.

"There were nine or ten of them there waiting and I was just overwhelmed, they were kicking and punching me.

"As I went back into pub, bleeding and half conscious, I could hardly speak. I walked through the bar, went upstairs and called the police."

Ms Devay said: "The pub was full of people who were having a fantastic night and we just had this handful of idiots who ruined it. We're not going to let them get away with it."