Southampton man sentenced for series of assaults in the city

A Southampton man has been sentenced to 16 months in prison after assaulting two people and a police officer outside of a Shirley pub.

Lewis Wilkinson, 35, of Derby Road, appeared at Southampton Crown Court  on Friday (2 February) for sentencing in connection with the assault of two members of the public and a police officer in December.

The court heard how police were called on Sunday 17 December 2023 to a report that a man had assaulted a man outside of the Osborne Inn pub on Shirley Road. The victim, a man in his 40s, was punched and kicked a number of times in the face, resulting in a swollen eye and chipped tooth. A woman in her 30s was also assaulted when she tried to intervene.

When officers attended, one of them was kicked in the leg, causing a minor injury.

Wilkinson was arrested and charged with two counts of assault and one count of assaulting an emergency worker, which he subsequently pleaded guilty to.

This result also activates a suspended sentence of six months in connection with the assault of a man and a woman inside a residential property on Hill Lane.

It was reported on August 29 2023 that entry was forced to the address and a man in his 50s and woman in her 90s were assaulted, sustaining minor injuries.

Wilkinson was handed a suspended sentence in connection with this incident at a court hearing in November 2023. This has now been activated and he has been sentenced to a total of 16 months in prison.

Police Staff Investigator Stephen Hortin, of Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary’s Western Area Crime team, said “The court heard how Wilkinson drank to a level at which he became violent, in a manner that is exceedingly similar to his actions in August for which he was given a suspended sentence. This pattern of behaviour is simply not acceptable and I hope that those who have been injured and impacted by Wilkinson’s actions will take some comfort in this result today.

“I hope that the sentence handed down to Wilkinson demonstrates that the police, the CPS and the courts will not tolerate repeat patterns of offending and will deal with those who breach suspended sentences robustly. Wilkinson now has some months to consider his relationship with alcohol and violence and the consequences that his actions have on his victims, himself and also his own family.”