A woman who smeared her husband's mouth with faeces during a row has been handed an 18-month suspended sentence, and the couple are reportedly in talks to reconcile.
Alison Moore, 63, admitted three charges of assault, including hitting her husband Rob with a ring and later striking him with a broom handle. The incident took place at their farmhouse in Damerham, a village of about 500 people in Hampshire, after she accused him of not standing up for her at a local pub on August 20.
Southampton Crown Court gave Moore a suspended sentence last week, meaning she will not serve time in jail. During the trial, prosecutors said Moore told Rob, “You talk so much s**t, I’m going to make you eat it,” before the attack.
Couple Consider Fresh Start
Moore has been living in an Airbnb in Wimborne, Dorset, since separating from Rob. The couple, married for 13 years, have put their four-bedroom farmhouse up for sale with an asking price of £1.2 million. A Rightmove listing describes the “elegant” property as sitting on half an acre of land in Damerham, nine miles south of Salisbury.
Rob still lives at the property with their two dogs while looking for a buyer. The proceeds from the sale could fund a “fresh start” as the couple enter talks to save their marriage, the Daily Mail reported.
Villagers React to 'Poogate'
A friend of the couple told the tabloid: “It’s quite unbelievable really that they think they might still have a future together after what happened, given the way Alison has treated him over the years. But they are talking about the chance of making a fresh start away from Damerham. I think they just want to be in a place where nobody knows them.”
Another local added: “I know I wouldn’t want to be with a woman who had shoved s*** into my mouth. I don’t know how you come back from that as a couple. But each to his own and if they can work it out, well, I say hats off to them. Most men wouldn’t be able to do it.”
Villagers have dubbed the incident “poogate.” A worker at The Compasses, the pub where the row began, claimed Moore has been banned for her “rowdy” behaviour. Rob declined to comment when approached by the Daily Mail.
Court Details and Defence
During the trial, the court heard the Moores had spent the afternoon at one pub before trying another, which turned Moore away. Prosecutor Andrew Coley said there were “ongoing bad feelings” in the relationship, which defence barrister Rose Burns attributed to “an imbalance.”
The court was told Moore targeted her husband in a “pre-meditated” attack that put him at risk of disease transmission. A selfie taken by Rob showed his face smeared with excrement. Burns said Moore “completely regrets” her actions and took “full blame.” She had self-referred for private mental health care at a local Priory to “review” her relationship with alcohol.
Moore will also receive treatment for depression following the deaths of her father, mother, and sister over the last three years. “She felt trapped and frustrated with her life,” said Burns. “Her husband controlled the finances. She wanted to sell up and he didn’t.” Judge Gary Lucie told Moore that “the use of faeces was a gratuitous degradation” of her husband.
