by Chinwe Okafor

Quite extreme for a quick line of action at the spur of the moment don’t you think?

A woman has revealed how she bit off her attacker’s tongue and stored it in her mouth to preserve vital DNA evidence.

Adele Barber was on the way home from a doctor’s appointment in January last year when a man brushed against her in the street. Initially dismissing it as clumsy flirtation, things took a more serious turn when the man ran up behind her, pushed her against a wall and began to sexually assault her.

Speaking to This Morning hosts Phillip Schofield and Christine Bleakley about her ordeal, Adele revealed she managed to secure a conviction after biting off her attacker’s tongue.

Discussing the assault, she explained: ‘He tried to kiss me and forced his tongue in my mouth.

‘I thought this has left him vulnerable, I’m just going to bite down as hard as I can and it will show it’s not consensual in any way shape or form, get as much DNA as I can and try and cause enough pain to get this guy off me.’

Revealing that her attacker seemed to actually enjoy the pain of having his tongue bitten, Adele then scratched his face repeatedly in an effort to secure more DNA evidence. After her attacker left her alone, Adele ran a mile home with the tip of his tongue in her mouth.

Calling the police for advice before she even spoke to her husband, she then preserved the vital evidence.

Ten years previously she was raped, but initially delayed going to police. When she did report the crime, there wasn’t enough evidence for a conviction.

This time around Adele was determined to ensure her attacker was caught.

After he committed other offences police were able to get a DNA match and Adele’s attacker was subsequently committed to a psychiatric ward indefinitely.

Saying she hoped he would now receive the treatment he needed, Adele also gave her advice to anyone who might find themselves in the same position.

She said: ‘If you can, fight back as much as you can, get as much evidence as you can and get to the police as quickly as you can.’