New Milton’s Neil Vare, former owner of Fascia World in Walkford, jailed for two years after being found guilty of GBH

A NEW Milton business owner who viciously attacked a woman at a party tried to sue her for loss of income after his arrest, a court heard.

Neil Vare, who is the sole director of Walkford-based Fascia World, was jailed for two years after the attack, which happened at a party in his home.

The 48-year-old punched the victim four times, leaving her with a deep laceration to her lip and bruising to her eye. He denied he was responsible for the injuries but was found guilty of GBH after a trial at Winchester Crown Court, and was sentenced at Southampton Crown Court.

Prosecutor Ellie Fargin told the court the incident happened on 4th September 2021 during a social gathering at Vare’s home. Things had been “going well”, she explained, “but escalated”, with the victim ending up on the kitchen floor.

Vare punched her twice in her face, as well as raining blows to her eye and lip, the court heard.

She managed to get outside and call 999, with police arriving shortly after, arresting Vare.

The victim needed 17 stitches for the cut to her lip, Ms Fargin added.

A victim impact statement read to the court on her behalf said the incident had caused “a lot of anxiety”. This was triggered further by seeing Vare’s work van around the local area.

She described Vare as “controlling and a narcissist”, adding that since his arrest he had made false allegations against her to social services regarding the care of her father and child, as well as to her employer.

Vare had also attempted to sue her for loss of income due to his arrest, the court heard.

She added: “It has been a campaign of harassment to make my life a misery.”

Vare gave a no-comment interview after his arrest, the court was told.

He has nine previous convictions for offences including four cases of battery, the most recent of which happened in 2017.

Defending, Tim Draker told the court his client did not agree with the jury’s decision, but he had accepted it.

Delays in bringing the case to court meant it had been “hanging over him for the best part of three years”, which had “weighed heavily” on him and his family.

He urged Recorder Dan Sawyer to suspend his sentence due to the impact on his family and his business.

He explained: “He has spent a number of years building it up and inevitably if he is sent immediately to prison it is going to have an impact on him, but most important is the impact on others – his partner, children and employees will suffer.”

Mr Draker said Vare posed no risk to the public and had “a real prospect of rehabilitation”.

However, Recorder Sawyer rejected the request and sentenced Vare to two years in jail.

He told him: “The incident had a great effect on the victim, as has your conduct since then.

“It is beyond doubt that a sentence of imprisonment would have a substantial effect on your business and family.

“What I do not have here is remorse – you do not accept what you did. You would have been in a far stronger position if you had accepted what you had done, pleaded guilty, and shown remorse.”

He also imposed a 10-year restraining order banning contact with the victim.