A judge warned Bason to “be under no illusion” as he walked free
A drink driver who praised a “higher power” after being spared prison can continue to thank his lucky stars after once again walking free. Neil Bason, 38, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday, October 15, where he admitted battering his on-off girlfriend during an argument.
Bason had been watching television with the woman on May 16 this year when he snatched her mobile phone and accused her of cheating on him. The woman tried to snatch her phone back, but was grabbed by Bason, causing bruises to her arms. A struggle broke out, and the woman was eventually able to flee Bason’s property and return to her own home.
But Bason, of Hampton Road, Southport, followed her and attempted to force his way inside. The woman’s father intervened and removed him from the property, but he returned a short time later and continued his violent behaviour.
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He was arrested and given bail, which he breached on June 25 when he went drinking with the woman at The Wellington pub on Eastbank Street. Again an argument broke out, which led to Bason grabbing the woman’s mobile phone and smashing it on the ground.
He pleaded guilty to assault and criminal damage, as well as breaching a suspended sentence and was sentenced to 25 weeks in prison. However, because he had been taken into custody for breaching his bail, this meant he was immediately released on licence, having already served 16 weeks behind bars. The judge also declined to activate the 12 month suspended sentence, which he had been given for drink driving, but warned him: “Be under no illusion, further breaches will not be viewed so generously by the court.”
It was the second time Bason made headlines in court after he caused a head-on crash while driving drunk in December 2022. He downed “four or five” pints of lager while watching a football match at the Blue Anchor pub in Southport, then got behind the wheel, driving the wrong way around a roundabout and crashing into an oncoming car.
He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and drink driving, and was handed a 12-month imprisonment suspended for two years. Around two hours later, he said in a Facebook post accompanied by a smiley face emoji: “Someone definitely looking down on me today from a higher power.”
Speaking in his defence in court on Tuesday, Nicola Daly said: “Having spoken to the defendant this morning, the first thing he said was ‘I think I needed to go to prison’, because in May and June this year he had started taking cocaine and started drinking, which led to the common assault and criminal damage.
“While in custody, in addition to having undertaking the course that might assist him in obtaining employment in the future as a personal trainer, he has also started taking medication assisting with his mental health. He tells me he has become an enhanced prisoner, which means he has become a cleaner, out of his cell for most of the day, which has assisted with his structure, his health and his fitness. It appears he has used these past four months proactively.”
