THE sentence received by a man who bit off the tip of another’s nose will surprise some readers.

As our page one story reveals, the Royal Court ruled that the 21-year-old should serve 240 hours of community service for causing a ‘distressing’ injury, due to his ‘severe over-reaction’ at last year’s Vale Earth Fair.

The sentencing followed a 9-1 majority verdict in March that he was guilty of malicious wounding.

It seems he has escaped a heavier penalty because, although the attack on his 50-year-old victim was ‘nasty’, it was not premeditated.

Yet still the decision may bewilder some who fear it could send out the wrong message to offenders. Islanders need to be clear in their minds whether the court’s aim is to warn, punish, rehabilitate or keep prison numbers down.

Community Service in Guernsey remains a relatively new concept to the island, following its introduction in October 2007.

Effectively designed as a penalty on offenders’ free time, the hours are worked on projects of benefit to the community, such as clearing scrub and tidying grounds in public areas.

Certainly, it can be hard work, especially on top of a day job – which is the whole point: giving something back to the community in their own time.

Based on a model used in Jersey for 23 years, the aim was to keep people out of prison, who could otherwise contribute to society, and to reduce re-offending.

While sentencing in this case may at first glance seem lenient, there is no mistaking the court’s strong underlying warning – if even one hour of community is not completed this offender will be looking at a 15-month jail term.

That means just under five hours of service every week for a whole year.

Put like that, community service does not sound such an easy option.

While the scheme itself remains on trial in Guernsey until later this year, verdicts such as this one will play a part in determining its long-term fate.

The jury may well still be out.