Hanley Market worker jailed after ‘stumbling across’ August riots ‘by chance’

Ryan Perry was earning £1,800-a-month in Hanley Market

A 23-year-old man who has worked in Hanley Market for 12 years is now locked up – after ‘stumbling across’ the city centre riots ‘by chance’. Ryan Perry was on a Saturday off when he dropped his girlfriend off in Hanley and went to the shops and a pub.

But he later joined the Hanley riots, struck police officers’ shields, and made an obscene gesture to a group outside Salahuddin Mosque, on Town Road. Now Perry, of Mount Street, Hanley, has been jailed for 22 months for violent disorder and assaulting two police officers.

It comes as his mate – 22-year-old Marcus Ramsden, from Latebrook Close, in Goldenhill – has been jailed for two years for his role in the Hanley riots.

Fiona Cortese, prosecuting, told Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court: “The video footage shows Mr Perry push a police officer’s shield with some force before he turns and walks away and sticks his fingers up at the police constable who was recording. He then lashes out at a female officer and pushes her shield and then strikes another officer’s shield. The rest of the footage is much of the same, as comments are being shouted and Mr Perry makes a ‘w*****r’ gesture to the people at the mosque.

“Mr Perry says he had drunk a lot of alcohol the night before and woke up at 11am to go to the shop and stumbled across the riots by chance. He says he was with his mum when he was surrounded by men with knives, then he said he doesn’t remember it, and then he said something must have triggered him to react that way.”

Perry earns £1,800-a-month moving produce around Hanley Market.

Paul Cliff, mitigating, said: “Mr Perry works at Hanley Market and has done for 12 years from before he left school. He bitterly regrets that he happened to be in the city centre on August 3.

“He is normally there for work but by coincidence he was given that Saturday off, he dropped his girlfriend off in Hanley and visited shops before going to a pub he often frequents. Mr Perry then says he very foolishly joined some of those in that group and participated in a way that has been shown on CCTV and bodycam footage.

“Mr Perry has shown real remorse on his part that he chose to do that. He is keen his involvement wasn’t motivated by race and says he was caught up in the excitement of the disturbance as he has no political views at all.

“His family are both astonished and devastated that he should become embroiled in this type of offence, and they have said in their reference they find it surreal he has behaved in this way. His worst behaviour was banging on police shields and he didn’t throw or shout any racist commentary. He is still a young man at 23, I suspect he is more prone to reckless or foolish choices that are likely to diminish as he ages.

“He’s hopeful, because of his good work ethic, he will be working back in Hanley Market. He has a good relationship with his family and maintains direct relations with his mother and father and they will support him on his release. This will be his first experience of prison and the criminal justice system in any capacity. He assures me that once he’s released from his sentence he will return to work and will not trouble the criminal justice system again.”

Judge Graeme Smith described Perry as being at the ‘forefront of the activity’ on Town Road.

He added: “You were threatening and aggressive to police. You struck officers from the side when they didn’t see you coming. You are relatively young, have no previous convictions, and have a good work ethic. I will reduce your sentence from 34 months to 22 months imprisonment.”

Stoke Sentinel