A man has received the shock of his life after waking up one morning to find out that half his ear has disappeared without understanding what happened.

A shocking image has emerged showing a man's ear which was totally ripped off - and the man has no idea how it happened.

According to The Sun UK, Peter Wilkinson, 53, needed 25 stitches to reattach his ear which was left dangling from a flap of skin.

The night before, on Saturday 12 August, Peter can only remember going out for a few drinks in Exmouth, Devon.

But the following morning, his horrified partner woke him up to tell him about his gruesome injury.

Fearing he may have been the victim of an assault, cops have issued an appeal to help him make sense of the incident.

Apart from his ear injury, Peter suffered a series of minor cuts and bruises.

Detective Inspector Grant Leitch from Exmouth CID appeals for the public to get in touch if they know anything in relation to Mr Wilkinson's injury.

He added: "The next thing he remembers is being woken up at home by his partner having sustained a serious ear injury and covered in cuts and bruises.

"We would like to hear from anyone who was in the vicinity of Exmouth Strand and the Magnolia centre between 12.20am and 1am, who may have seen anything suspicious, or who may have witnessed an assault."