Yobs who terrorised Fareham community before punching and kneeing man in violent running Co-op incident now ‘model prisoners’

Notorious duo Dylan Hawkins, 20, and Callum Henney, 18, were confronted by a resident outside Co-op in Yew Tree Drive, Whiteley, on November 17, 2020, and asked why they ‘terrorise people in the area’. The men denied any wrongdoing as tempers flared between the parties.

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The resident then entered the shop before he was followed by Hawkins and Henney - who have since been jailed following a separate incident of robbery - and a third man, Callum Fisher. The victim was then punched and had an item thrown at him as the gang chased him round the store.

‘(The victim) went down an aisle when he was set upon by all three in which he was punched to his head and kneed in his body,’ prosecutor Beverley Cherill told Portsmouth Crown Court. ‘It was a concerted effort by all three.’

The punishing beating was only stopped when a member of staff broke it up before another worker grabbed the victim and pulled him into a nearby room for safety. ‘Members of staff and the public were shouting for them to stop,’ Ms Cherill added.

The victim was left with lumps to his head and pain in his jaw with him also suffering headaches. His mobile phone was smashed during the attack.

But the complainant was able to inform police who his attackers were before their identities were confirmed after CCTV checks. The men were subsequently arrested.

The court was told how Hawkins and Henney were jailed in April for three years for a robbery during the height of their campaign of terror in December 2020. But both had since made strides to turn their lives around while behind bars, with Henney earning enhanced prisoner status for his work in bike maintenance. Hawkins, meanwhile, had turned his hand to horticulture during his stint behind bars.

Hawkins and Henney, of Granby Grove and Hill Lane in Southampton respectively, both admitted affray. The defendants said the victim started filming them outside the Co-op before they reacted.

Judge Richard Shepherd said the lengthy delay in the case ‘does not sit well with me’ before admitting: ‘If I was sentencing two years ago I would think you were two little thugs but two years on has given me a chance to look at things differently.’

The judge said the defendants could ‘not have done more to turn their lives around’ before adding: ‘The two of you, if you use the time well in prison, could go into two trades the community is desperate for and can make real money.

‘I accept both of you are now maturing and are model prisoners. I accept your remorse is genuine and you are different people to who you were two years ago.’

The judge then sentenced the pair to an additional four months in a young offenders institution.