Man, 42, jailed for assault on woman in Holbury

A 42-year-old man from Blackfield has been jailed for an unprovoked assault on a woman in Holbury.

Michael James Hitchcox, of Pavilion Gardens, pleaded guilty to head-butting and punching the victim, aged in her 20s, when he appeared at Southampton Magistrates’ Court on Friday 24 April.

For the assault, which left the victim with ABH-level injuries, including cuts to her lip, Hitchcox was sentenced to 24 weeks behind bars, handed a two-year restraining order and told to pay £285 in compensation and costs.

His driving record was also endorsed with six penalty points after he admitted to using a motor vehicle on a road without third party insurance and driving a motor vehicle otherwise than in accordance with a licence.

It follows an incident on Friday 10 April, during which he verbally abused and assaulted the woman outside a takeaway shop on Long Lane.
After the incident, Hitchcox drove off, despite not holding a licence or being insured.

Speaking after sentencing, Sergeant Glenn Wilshere, of Waterside Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “I am pleased for the victim in this case that justice has been served and that Hitchcox has been placed behind bars, where he must now face up to the consequences of his cowardly actions on the night in question.

“The victim was simply going about her Friday evening and about to return home with a takeaway, something many of us do at the end of a long week, and something we should all be able to do without fear of assault.

“She was then violently attacked by Hitchcox, without any provocation whatsoever.

“I hope that this outcome will offer the victim some comfort, safe in the knowledge that Hitchcox is now imprisoned and cannot harm anybody else.”