Hampshire man jailed for multiple assault offences including headbutting a man on a bus

Kieran Snelling, 32, from Eastleigh, has been jailed for 20 weeks for assault and public order offences which included headbutting a 60-year-old on a bus, and an unprovoked attack on a man in his 30s on the A335. The sentence was handed down at Southampton Magistrates' Court on Thursday, January 18 with Snelling pleading guilty to two cases of assault by beating and two of using threatening/abusive/insulting words/behaviour with intent to cause fear of/provoke unlawful violence.

PC Michael Gould, of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary, dealt with the case. He said: “I’m pleased with the outcome, and to see that Snelling will be spending time behind bars. That evening, in the space of under an hour, Snelling assaulted and verbally abused four innocent people who were simply going about their daily lives. While it has taken time to get to the point of sentencing, I’m so glad to see that justice has now been served and that Snelling has time to reflect on what he did. The support and patience of the victims, alongside the hard work of the officers involved in this case, has ensured we achieved the right result. I hope the victims will take some comfort from the fact that Snelling, while he is locked away, is unable to do this to anybody else.”

The incidents occurred in Eastleigh on Saturday November 5, 2022, between 10:30pm and 11.10pm. The culprit, who was 30 at the time, verbally abused a bus driver who was in his 20s and was challenged by a passenger who asked him to get off the bus. Snelling subsequently headbutted the passenger, who was in his 60s, causing him to bleed. CCTV caught the incident on the bus and also captured him getting off the bus and heading into the town centre where he approached a vehicle and verbally abused the occupants, leaving one of them in their late teens fearing unlawful violence.

Snelling completed his hour of offences by approaching a man on the A335 and hitting him causing the victim in his 30s to fall to the floor. Snelling was then arrested a short while later. Alongside the 20 week jail term, Snelling has been ordered to pay £370 in compensation to his victims.