Discharged soldier's bid for pub or off-licence job

Gareth Porch was dismissed from the Royal Logistics Corps based in Winchester in January and sentenced to two years detention in a military corrective training centre after he was convicted of grievous bodily harm and five counts of battery.

The former soldier has now applied to Swindon Borough Council for a personal licence, via a consultancy firm Inn Confidence.

For someone to run a licensed premises, such as a pub or off-licence, they must also hold a personal licence, so holding one allows someone to apply for jobs such as the licensee of a pub, a shop selling drink or tobacco, or other similar business.

Gareth and Lyanne Porch outside Bulford Military Court (Image: Solent News and Pictures)

In the incident, described as a “disgraceful” episode of “unwanted violence” by the judge, Mr Porch’s wife, mother of four Lyanne, had become angry over a comment a warrant office had made about them buying drinks for a teenager at the Arkotiri Arms in Limassol, Cyprus, and instructed her husband to assault him, Bulford Military Court heard earlier this year.

The former staff sergeant initially attacked the wrong man, before Mrs Porch directed him to their intended victim and her husband pushed him to the ground.

The 42-year-old punched the warrant officer to the face, fracturing his eye socket and leaving him “bleeding from the ear”.

He received medical help from passers-by while the defendant stood by and “did nothing”.

Gareth Porch (Image: Solent News & Pictures)

The warrant officer, whose wife was four months pregnant at the time, worried he would never see his unborn child, the court heard.

The court also heard that during the incident, Mr Porch punched a 17-year-old girl after he intervened in a separate altercation between two women.

Assistant Judge Advocate Jane England said, in sentencing: “You stood by and did nothing to help. You could have killed him.

"He spent two nights in hospital and was told he could lose his sight.

"This was a disgraceful incident from beginning to end."

40-year-old Lyanne Porch was given a 12-week suspended prison sentence having been found guilty of one count of battery.

Wiltshire Police have objected to Mr Porch’s application on the grounds that his convictions from this incident are unspent, and will not be until 2026.

The licensing panel will meet at 11am at the council chambers in Euclid Street on Friday, July 18.