Garda feared Aids after man bit him

A garda who feared he had contracted an infectious disease after he was bitten by a man has told the High Court he was unable to have sex with his wife for six months following the assault.

Garda Mark Kilbride, aged 41, told the court the incident happened in November 2000, when he and colleagues were escorting the man, who was agitated and aggressive, from his home to a mental-health unit in Sligo, where he was to be admitted as a voluntary patient.

The court heard during a Garda compensation hearing that when he approached him, the man, who he knew had a history of drug abuse “with needles”, pulled Garda Kilbride’s head back and sank his teeth into his right upper arm.