Rioter who wheeled lit Biffa bin at line of police handed himself in after seeing footage

The court heard that Louis McGrother went out to join a peaceful protest but ‘the mob mentality took hold and he got carried away’

A Middlesbrough rioter who wheeled a lit waste container at a line of police, has been jailed.

Louis McGrother, 22, was captured shouting and kicking out at the police, before he got hold of the plastic bin. Along with other rioters, McGrother lit the the plastic Biffa waste container and pushed it at the police corden on Linthorpe Road.

He was captured on bodycam footage as officers held up their shields to protect themselves, after the riot turned violent and missiles were thrown at the police, on the evening of August 4. The police corden was formed to try and stop rioters breaking away onto Clarendon Road.

Days later, on August 12, McGrother walked into a police station and handed himself in. He had seen himself on the video that police released to the media; it showed McGrother, clearly visible in green shorts and a blue jumper, pushing the bin alongside other rioters. McGrother took the clothes he was wearing in the footage into Middlesbrough police station.

He refused to answer police questions but later pleaded guilty violent disorder. He has one previous conviction for four driving offences, after he crashed into a Ford Focus on the M11 in June 2022. McGrother was banned from the roads at the time and he failed to stop after the crash or report the accident.

A warrant was issued for his arrest after he failed to turn up to court in Essex, and he was handed a community order. On Friday afternoon, McGrother’s partner and his mother watched from the public gallery as Teesside Crown Court heard that he was taken into prison on remand after appearing at Teesside Magistrates on August 13.

In mitigation, Joel Wootton said that McGrother had gone to the pre-arranged meeting point at the Cenotaph to take part “…in a peaceful protest. “The mob mentality took hold” Mr Wootton said, “he got carried away.”

McGrother’s barrister said that his client felt a “great deal of regret” after seeing himself in the footage “acting the way he was. He knows he has let everyone in the town down. He has a great amount of affection for Middlesbrough.”

The court heard that McGrother’s employer wrote a character reference for him – although he has now lost his job. His mother and his partner also submitted references to the court, which said that he is a “well-balanced man who takes his family responsibilities seriously; and that he has a good work ethic.” McGrother helps to care for his partner’s child.

Judge Francis Laird KC told him: “You were acting aggressively towards a line of police officers – kicking out at them. Then you, along with others, set light to a wheelie bin and pushed it towards the police corden.

“I accept that losing your liberty and your job will not only hit hard on you, but also on those you care about. You chose to take part in an organised and large scale disorder. Eight police officers were injured; police cars were damaged; there was large scale damage to houses and to public buildings.”

McGrother, of South View Terrace, Middlesbrough, was jailed for 20-months.

Gazette Live