Southampton: Man celebrates walking free after Christmas Eve fight

Aiden Lofthouse, 22, left Southampton Crown Court with his arms stretched out in glee just minutes after being handed a suspended sentence.

The defendant shouted "I'm free" and continued to exclaim as he walked down the ramp leaving the court.

Just minutes earlier he had been sentenced - along with his co-defendant Gavin Norris - for an incident in London Road, Southampton.

Lofthouse and Norris had been using a cashpoint when stranger Paul Allamby walked past and made a passing comment about Lofthouse’s mother which “touched a nerve”.

Lofthouse then set upon the man, running after him and punching him in the face.

Gavin Norris. (Image: Hampshire Constabulary.)

Norris, 44, followed and also punched the victim, knocking him to the ground before Lofthouse delivered a kick while he lay on the ground.

The shopper was knocked out during the incident with the defendants leaving the scene before members of the public rang for an ambulance.

The pair were arrested, with Lofthouse then admitting to hitting and kicking Allamby twice on the floor.

Both men admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Norris, of Viney Avenue, Romsey also admitted twice failing to attend court.

In a statement read out in court, Mr Allamby said he was forced to take five to six months off work after the incident on December 24, 2020.

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He added that he has no recollection of the attack and “(doesn’t) feel safe anymore”.

He suffered a cut to his head which has now led to a scar as well as bruising and swollen eyes.

But mitigating for Lofthouse, Francisca Da Costa said the victim is thought to have been drinking on that day.

She said he had been “shouting random abuse”, and made a comment about Lofthouse’s mother who was ill at the time.

She said: “Mr Lofthouse was horrified by his actions. He is now in very different circumstances to where he was in December 2020.”

Lofthouse, a grounds worker from Portswood Road, Southampton, had been homeless at the time of the offence after being kicked out of his parent's home due to a cannabis addiction.

Hester Calder, for Norris, said he had not been involved in kicking the victim, describing his actions as “excessive self-defence of another”.

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She said: “The victim effectively was getting the better of Mr Lofthouse in the fight and only then did Mr Norris run in.”

She added that Norris is disappointed with his actions.

Judge Peter Henry accepted that Allamby had provoked Lofthouse before the incident.

Lofthouse was jailed for six months suspended for 18 months with 80 hours of unpaid work and 25 rehabilitation days.

He must pay £750 compensation within the next 28 days.

Norris, who has already served 118 days on remand, was jailed for 14 months.