Man jailed after unprovoked assault on woman outside Holbury takeaway

A 42-year-old man has been jailed after carrying out an unprovoked assault on a woman outside a takeaway shop in Holbury.

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

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

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

The court heard the incident happened on Friday, April 10, outside a takeaway shop on Long Lane, Holbury. Hitchcox verbally abused the woman before attacking her. He then drove away from the scene despite not holding a licence and not being insured.

Sergeant Glenn Wilshere, of the 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.”

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Posted: 2026-05-04T10:57:37+0000