Two men have been sentenced to a total of ten years in prison for their involvement in a serious assault that took place at The Hard Interchange in Portsmouth in April 2021.

Christopher Hale, 33, of Middlefield Road in Plymouth and Jordan Lewsley, 27, of Sandcroft Close, Gosport, appeared at Portsmouth Crown Court on Friday (21 January) where they were both sentenced to five years each in prison.

The court heard how shortly after midnight on April 18 2021, two men in their 30s, one from Gosport and one from Somerset, were approaching the Gosport ferry port when they were approached by Hale and Lewsley, who asked for the time of the next ferry.

Both men then became confrontational and started kicking and punching the 33-year-old man in the head and face. The pair then began punching the second man when he tried to intervene, kicking him to the head after he had fallen to the ground.

Both victims suffered serious injuries, including a number of broken bones and were taken to hospital for treatment. They have since made full recoveries.

Officers attended and arrested Hale and Lewsley at the scene. They were both later charged with two counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and two counts of inflicting grievous bodily harm and were remanded into custody.

Hale was found guilty in court of two counts of inflicting grievous bodily harm. Lewsley was also found guilty of two counts of inflicting grievous bodily harm.

DC Lucia Davies of Hampshire Constabulary’s Criminal Investigation Department, who led the investigation, said: “This was a serious and violent unprovoked assault on two men who were simply making their way home and we are pleased that Hale and Lewsley will now face the consequences of their actions.

“I hope that this sentence sends a clear message that violence of any kind will not be tolerated and we will do everything we can to take these offenders of our streets and keep our communities safe. We will always take reports of assaults of this nature seriously and investigate fully.”