Thug jailed for unprovoked attack on two women in Basingstoke town centre (From Andover Advertiser)

Thug jailed for unprovoked attack on two women in Basingstoke town centre

7:00pm Monday 18th February 2013 in Basingstoke By Emily Roberts, Chief Reporter

A THUG has been jailed after assaulting two women in Basingstoke town centre in an unprovoked attack.

Jonathan Page, of Normanton Road, Basingstoke, appeared at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court where he was sentenced for two counts of assault by beating. The 22-year-old had previously been convicted after a trial, after claiming he had acted in self-defence.

Prosecutor Kerry Richardson said the attack happened on October 27 last year, in the early hours of the morning, when victims Sarah Hutchinson and Jennifer Ward were out together. She added: “Mr Page walked past them and was abusive towards them for no reason whatsoever. The females did say something back to him and one may have sworn at him.”

She told the court that Page then pushed Sarah Hutchinson, putting both hands on her shoulders, and she fell back and hit her head on a lamp-post. Mrs Richardson added: “He pushed her with considerable force. Jennifer Ward went towards him and asked him why he pushed her. He didn’t say anything but punched her to the right side of her face, knocking her glasses to the floor.”

She threatened to call the police and followed Page while dialling 999 from her mobile phone. Mrs Richardson said: “He grabbed her phone and threw it.”

Two women who were with Page tried to persuade him to leave, but he refused. However, a plain-clothes police officer witnessed the attack and Page was arrested. Mrs Richardson said both women were shocked and shaken.

Defending Page, Jo Coomber said her client had a problem with drinking alcohol. She said he was unemployed but had a few interviews lined up for warehouse work.

District Judge Philip Gillibrand said he was left with no option but to send Page to prison. He added: “Rather than come to court and admit your guilt, you deny it, putting forward the rather novel defence of self-defence. That was rejected. Now you are saying you have no memory of what went on.”

The judge said that Page had replaced an alcohol addiction with cannabis, and added: “There’s a certain outrage that most normal, civilised people feel, that in the street, two females, minding their own business, are abused and attacked by you for no reason other than being there. The law needs to step in and say no, that’s not going to be tolerated.”

He sentenced page to 10 weeks in prison for each count, to run concurrently.