Delivery rider bites off customer's thumb during row over pizza

WATCH: Thumb-bite victim Stephen Jenkinson speaks to ITV's Good Morning Britain

A man from Hampshire has described the moment a food delivery rider bit off his thumb during a dispute over a pizza order.

Stephen Jenkinson, 36, said the woman “totally bit [the thumb] off and then spat it into my ex-partner’s hand” during the incident outside his Aldershot home in December 2022.

“I simply said to her, ‘I’m from that house, can I have the food?’ And then it just escalated so quickly,” Mr Jenkinson told ITV’s Good Morning Britain.

“As she was swinging for me, I pushed her away… my hand hit the side of her helmet and the thumb went through the visor and she just clamped down until it was gone,” he added.

The right-hand thumb could not be saved and doctor’s decided to attached part of the plumber’s big toe onto the stump instead.

"It was a very challenging procedure to go through. I was taken in an ambulance with the thumb inside a bag of frozen blueberries. When we got to the hospital they just said, 'It is unable to go back on'," Mr Jenkinson said.

The plumber had to take months off work to recover from the attack and lost his home and relationship as a result.

WATCH: Victim speaks to ITV's Kate Garraway and Ed Balls on Good Morning Britain

"I was imprisoned in my house for seven months, I was bed and sofa-bound for four months because my toe had to heal and I had to ensure my thumb had attached," Mr Jenkinson added.

A Deliveroo spokesperson said: “This was an awful incident. We ended the account of the rider concerned immediately and have fully cooperated with the police on the investigation.”

A woman reportedly pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm at Winchester Crown Court on 20 March. She is due to be sentenced on 3 May.

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