Rioter attacked police with bricks and metal poles

A rioter who repeatedly struck police officers with bricks and metal poles during citywide disorder has been jailed for two years and eight months.

Balaclava-clad Leyton Kennedy, 22, hurled missiles at close range at police during the riots in Sunderland on 2 August 2024, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

The riot was one of several to break out across the country when anti-immigration protests sparked by the murder of three girls in Southport turned violent.

Kennedy, of High Croft in Washington, admitted riot, which has a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The killing of the girls in Southport, for which a man was jailed for at least 52 years, sparked a “national outcry” with incorrect information quickly spreading on social media that the killer was an immigrant to the UK, prosecutor Saba Shan said.

In north-east England, anti-immigration protests took place in Hartlepool, Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Newcastle in the days after the murders, the court heard.

‘Serious and sustained violence’

In Sunderland, a planned protest erupted into violence and disorder involving hundreds of people at several spots around the city centre after 16:00 BST on 2 August, the court heard.

In CCTV footage shown to the court, Kennedy can be seen hurling at least 18 missiles, including bricks and a metal pole, at a line of police officers at Keel Square at about 19:30.

He repeatedly ran up to the line and threw objects at a close range and was part of a group that used a large scaffolding pole as a “battering ram” against the officers, Ms Shan said.

Kennedy was also seen as part of a group shouting anti-immigration slogans, the court heard.

Officers were met with “serious and sustained violence” throughout the riots with several requiring hospital treatment, the hearing also heard.

A police office and neighbouring Citizen’s Advice Bureau were destroyed by a fire, businesses were looted and vehicles damaged, Ms Shan said.

‘Scary riots’

In mitigation, Liam O’Brien said Kennedy, who wept throughout the hearing, had been “immature foolish and stupid” and accepted his actions had been “abhorrent”.

He said as a young man Kennedy, who had a conviction for assault from when he was 17, was “susceptible to peer pressure”, which was what happened during the riot.

Mr O’Brien also said he had various disorders, including dyslexia and ADHD, which made it “more likely” for him to get “swept up in the frenzy” of the rioting.

The Honourable Mr Justice Tinkler said the disorder had been “scary” and rioting had a “collective impact which is greater than the actions of each individual on their own”.

He said Kennedy was at the front of a group of people attacking the police but his youth and mental health disorders had an “impact on his personal responsibility”.

BBC News