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‘This was a truly shocking incident’ says DC James Payne

Alex Chivers was jailed for 26 and 12 weeks, to be served concurrently Metropolitan Police

Alex Chivers was jailed for 26 and 12 weeks, to be served concurrently Metropolitan Police

A man who abused two Muslim women before striking one of them in the face with a packet of bacon has been jailed.

Alex Chivers made abusive comments to a Muslim teen, who was walking down a road in Enfield, north London, with her mother on 8 June.

After calling her “Isil scum” and shouting “you deserve this”, he then struck her in the face with an open packet of bacon.

“The victim was not injured, but was very distressed,” Scotland Yard said in a statement.

Chivers, of nearby Waltham Cross, was arrested six days later and changed with one count of racially or religiously aggravated common assault and one count of causing racially or religiously aggravated alarm or distress.

After pleading guilty at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court, he was sentenced to 26 weeks’ imprisonment for the assault and 12 weeks’ imprisonment for a public order offence – to run concurrently.

Calling the incident “truly shocking”, DC James Payne from Enfield Community Safety Unit, said other people were present at the time of the assault, “including an associate of Chivers’ who filmed the incident”.

He added that enquiries were ongoing to try to identify them.

London’s Metropolitan Police said that hate crimes of this type remain “largely under reported”, adding that it “stands together with policing partners, colleagues and groups to investigate all hate crime allegations, support victims and their families, and bring perpetrators to justice”.

Police figures released in March, showed a considerable rise in hate-related crime in London over the previous year.

The number of victims of religious and racist hate crime had risen by almost 20 per cent, from 14,004 to 16,618, and victims of faith hate have seen an 18 per cent increase from 1,699 to 2,000.

Homophobic incidents had also increased by 12 per cent, from 1,816 to 2,033, while the number of disability hate victims increased by 216 per cent in the last year alone, up from 251 in 2015/16 to 794 in 2016/17.

In February, it was revealed that the number of hate crimes recorded by regional police forces rose by up to 100 per cent in the months following the Brexit vote.

The Independent

A father and son broke down after being sentenced for their part in a brawl at a bar in Folkestone.

Jordan Manwarning, 20, and Paul Manwarning, 40, both pleaded guilty to possessing an offensive weapon in a public place and affray.

Paul Manwarning was sent to prison for the incident.

Paul Manwarning was sent to prison for the incident.

At Folkestone Magistrates’ Court yesterday (June 27) the 20-year-old was handed a 12 month suspended sentence for two years and stood next to his father in the dock as he was sentenced to 12 months. He will spend six months in custody and the remaining six on license.

The charges relate to an incident in January 21 at the Office Bar in The Leas.

Frances Lawson, prosecuting, said: “At 11pm two groups of young people were involved in an altercation in the bar, each group containing five individuals. One of the groups included the defendant, Jordan Manwarning.

“Forty-five minutes later he was seen returning to the bar with a group of males, including his father.

“They were seen holding weapons – Paul Manwarning had a baseball bat. Jordan Manwarning carrying a snapped pole or wooden stick.

“Their behaviour was described as aggressive and they were shouting ‘where are they?’

“CCTV footage shows Jordan Manwarning pushing his chest into members of the public trying to calm the situation down.”

Ms Lawson read out a statement from the bar manager who tried to stop the fight where she said it was the ‘first time in 13 years she had felt frightened’ while working at the bar.

‘An ugly incident’

Jordan Manwarning was seen throwing punches and being pulled back by his father who then swung the baseball bat.

It snapped on a man’s shoulder but the victim did not co-operate with prosecution in the case.

Defending, Kerry Waitt said it was unusual behaviour and he was sorry about the incident.

He told the court: “This is an ugly incident, a very disturbing and frightening incident for anyone present at the bar and not the sort of behaviour representative of my client’s ordinary conduct.

“He is remorseful and that is evident by his plea at the earliest opportunity.”

Phil Rowley, representing Paul Manwarning, agreed with Mr Waitt’s description of the night’s events.

He said: “It was an ugly incident and one the defendant is truly ashamed of his part in.

“He was not intending on involving himself in any unlawful behaviour that evening. He had spent the evening at his partner’s house and returned home once his three year old had gone to bed.”

Manwaring received a call from his son who was distressed and he arrived at the venue to help him.

He also said Mr Manwarning has previously suffered with anxiety and depression and stopped taking medication for this until the case started again.

Read more: This dangerous driving caught on camera in Sandgate has left everyone very confused

As Judge Branston began to read his judgement, the 40-year-old began to cry and put his head in his hands and called out ‘I’ll lose everything.’

His partner was also crying in the public gallery.

Judge Branston said: “Violence like this can not be tolerated. You are his father. you should lead by example and the example you lead by is an appalling one.

“You were the older man and a mature adult and your involvement was more dangerous.”

Jordan Manwarning was ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and subject to a curfew between 7pm and 5am.

Kent Live

VIOLENT protester Patrick Edwards, who wore a skull mask during a disturbance at an anti-immigration rally in Dover, has been jailed for 16 months.

He threw an object at rival demonstrators when trouble broke out on January 30 last year.

Far right supporters held a demonstration against immigration and they clashed with anti-fascist groups.

The 27-year-old was recorded attempting to break through a police cordon, and at one point showed his face by lowering his mask to argue with officers.

Kent Police detectives reviewed hundreds of hours of footage from the day in order to identify those responsible with help from other forces across the UK.

Edwards, of Malvern Road, Portsmouth, was tracked down to his home address where he was arrested on February 8, 2017.

He was charged with violent disorder and pleaded guilty prior to his sentencing at Canterbury Crown Court.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Kirsty Bricknell said: ‘Wearing a mask to a demonstration is not something a peaceful protestor would do, and peaceful is not a word that could be used to describe Patrick Edwards on this occasion.

‘He showed a complete disregard for the law and is now behind bars as a result.’
Portsmouth News



A MAN has been jailed for nearly two years for attempting to stir up racial hatred on Facebook.

Unemployed Nigel Pelham, 49, suggested Britain should introduce “bomb a mosque day” and invited his Facebook followers to “put a Muslim on top of a bonfire.”

He pleaded guilty to eight counts of publishing threatening written material intending to stir up religious hatred between February 24, 2015 and November 16, 2015, at Lewes Crown Court in March.

Last week he was sentenced at Blackfriars Crown Court, London, to 20 months for each of the eight counts to run concurrently.

He was also ordered to pay a £100 victim surcharge and had two hard drives and his computer confiscated.

The charges are not used very often and are so serious they needed apporval from the Attorney General.

Pelham, of Freehold Street, Shoreham, previously denied the charges when he appeared before magistrates in Worthing last month.

Sergeant Peter Allan, from Sussex Police’s hate crime unit, said: “The charges brought in this case are extremely serious and were only brought against four people in England and Wales during 2016.

“Nigel Pelham used Facebook to express some truly offensive views, with no understanding of how serious his actions were.

“Many people see social media as a harmless and sometimes faceless place to air their opinions, however I hope this shows we will not tolerate this type of behaviour and will act when someone reports their concern about what someone is posting.”

He sentencing came just days before a man drove a van into a crowd of Muslim worshippers in north London. One man died and several others remain in hospital.

Sgt Allan said: “I hope the sentence acts as a deterrent and sends a reassuring message to those who may be directly targeted or are more widely affected by people’s use of social media to spread messages of fear and hate. I encourage people who witness such content, to report it to the provider of the social media platform, but such reports can also be made to us online.”

Brighton Argus

Gangs of rival football hooligans – who caused mayhem at a train station in full view of young families – have been sentenced with one yob banned from attending any games for three years.

Violence flared at Rotherham Railway Station when fans were waiting to catch their train home following a Championship fixture between Rotherham United and Derby County on March 12 last year.

Witnesses described seeing Rotherham fans taunt Derby fans on the opposite platform to come over to them for a fight.

British Transport Police said a group of Derby fans then headed across the footbridge and a fight broke out between the rival groups, in full view of families and children also waiting on the platform.

Nine men were later arrested and charged in connection with the brawl, with them all pleading guilty to affray at Sheffield Crown Court on May 17.

Among these was Grant Lowe, aged 23, of Robin Hood, Whatstandwell, Matlock in Derbyshire, who was handed an order banning him from attending any football games for the next three years.

He was also ordered to carryout 180 hours of unpaid community work, handed a 12 month community order and made to pay £200 in costs at Sheffield Crown Court on Friday, June 23.

After the case, detective constable Ian Grice said: “Despite being surrounded by young children and their families, these men behaved in a totally unacceptable and violent manner, frightening those around them with their aggressive behaviour. How would they have felt if their own families had been caught up in this?

“Fans like these need to be reminded that the station and trains are not only used by them and need to behave accordingly. The general public should not have to witness this. Railway stations are not an extension of football stands.”

Five Rotherham United fans were each ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid community work, handed a 12-month community order and made to pay £200 in costs.

They are:- Owen Dennedy-Roughley, aged 18, and Ryan Dennedy, aged 21, both of Windsor Street, Thurnscoe, Wayne Cadman, aged 52, of Probert Avenue, Goldthorpe, Simon Cragg, aged 33, of Nicholas Lane, Goldthorpe, and David Beckett, aged 33, of Albert Road, Morley.

Three Derby County fans were handed the same sentence. They are:- Adam Parker, aged 28, of Water Street, Wirksworth, Derbyshire, Daniel Oven, aged 25, of King Street, Middleton-by-Wirksworth, Derbyshire, and Jack Higton, aged 23, of Bournebrook Avenue, Wirksworth, Derbyshire.

Sheffield Star

A DRUNK dad beat and stamped on his ex-partner ‘like an animal’ and sent threatening, Islamophobic messages after she took a Muslim lover.

Peter Finch was jailed for 12 months at Worcester Crown Court after he beat his ex in a drunken rage which left her with a suspected broken rib.

He denied assault occasioning actual bodily harm against girlfriend Rebecca Harding at her home in Worcester but was found guilty at trial.

The 31-year-old, who said he was a former member of the English Defence League, previously admitted criminal damage to a door and malicious communication which was deemed racially or religiously aggravated between July and October last year.

Finch of Patterdale Drive, Warndon, Worcester, carried out the assault in May last year after Miss Harding, his partner of five years, returned home from work at about 6pm.

Mark Phillips, prosecuting, said: “The relationship was characterised by this defendant becoming aggressive when in drink.

“It was clear he had been out at the pub during the afternoon and was suffering from the effects of drinking too much.

“He accused her of having an affair when she told him she had other plans for the evening other than going out with him.”

The attack happened in a bedroom where she had gone to get changed.

“She described the defendant flying in and punching her in the face.

“The blow with his right hand struck her right cheek. She saw it instantly swelling up. He pushed her to the floor where he held her by the throat.

“She told him she was unable to breathe but still he would not let her go.”

He was described as kneeling on her while he punched her repeatedly in the body.

Mr Phillips said: “Whilst doing so he said ‘this is what I would have done to him’, presumably referring to the man he believed she was having the affair with.

“He stood up. She was curled up in a defensive position, into a ball. She was on her side, exposing her right flank. He then stamped on her ribs.

“She cried out in pain. It was only at that point the defendant seemed to have any sort of remorse about what he had done, saying he was sorry.

“She describes him as behaving like an animal. She had never seen him like that before.”

Miss Harding suffered bruising and a suspected broken rib during the attack. She went to see her doctor and had her medication for depression ‘doubled’, Mr Phillips said.

When Finch learned Miss Harding had travelled to Marrakech and had a new Moroccan boyfriend he sent her a number of abusive texts and WhatsApp messages.

Mr Phillips said: “There was reference to enjoying her time in a burka, clear reference to her being with a Muslim man.

“He refers to himself hating Muslims with a passion and said ‘you were happy to marry a man who hates Muslims with a passion and would wipe them off the planet’. He says he hopes she gets killed.”

In interview he told police: “I was part of the English Defence League.”

Finch represented himself because he was not eligible for legal aid and could not afford to pay anyone to represent him.

He said his ex had sent him messages about sexual activity between her and her new partner. He said: “It was more than disheartening – it was soul-breaking when she sent that to me.”

He added: “I have not been part of the English Defence League for three years. Now my views are completely changed.”

Judge Nicholas Cole said the assault was aggravated because it took place in front of a child. Although the physical injuries were limited to bruising and a suspected broken rib, the emotional impact had been ‘severe’.

He said of the threatening messages that he was satisfied that they were partly motivated by hostility towards Muslims.

He sentenced him to 12 months in custody for the ABH, four weeks for the criminal damage and three months for the malicious communicated with an extra month added because it was religiously/racially aggravated (four months in total). These sentences will be served concurrently to the 12 months, making a total sentence of 12 months.

No separate penalty was imposed for breach of a conditional discharge.

Worcester News

A demonstrator has been jailed for 14 months for throwing objects and hitting people with a flagpole in the Dover riots.

Daniel Spensley, 27, of Proudfoot Drive in Bishop Auckland, Durham, travelled to Kent to take part in a pre-planned march on Saturday 30 January 2016.

Fighting broke out when those present were met by other visitors who were holding a counter protest at the same time.

Daniel Spensley - latest jailed Dover rioter. Picture courtesy of Kent Police

Daniel Spensley – latest jailed Dover rioter. Picture courtesy of Kent Police

Kent Police detectives viewed hundreds of hours of evidential footage captured on the day and witnessed Spensley in a fist fight, attacking a person with a flagpole, and throwing rocks and brick.

He was arrested at his home address on February this year and and subsequently charged with violent disorder.

He pleaded guilty and was sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court last Friday.

Investigating Officer Det Cons Kirsty Bricknell said: ‘We will continue to pursue and convict protestors who acted in violence and without a care for the significant impact it would have on local residents.

“Spensley was one of these violent protestors and he, like many others, who thought they could evade justice by living outside our jurisdiction have been proven wrong time and again.

“Regardless of the difference of political views involved on the day, there is never any excuse for this type of criminal activity and I hope Spensley reflects on this while he is behind bars.”

The rioting had broken out when a march by far right groups such as the South East Alliance and National Front was confronted by anti-fascist protesters.

Ever since police have caught up with offenders and by March, 51 people were convicted.

Kent Online

A convicted killer who bit off part of a man’s ear and then mocked him by waving it about has been warned to expect a long jail sentence.

Ruben White, who has a previous conviction for manslaughter, left his victim Ian Hayward in need of reconstructive surgery following the attack in a residential street.

The 28-year-old, of no fixed address, denied wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, but was convicted with Liam Hudson, 28, of Station Road, Rainham, on a joint enterprise basis.

Hudson’s partner, former House of Fraser beauty sales assistant Amelia Waters, 27, of the same address, was cleared of the charge but convicted of the lesser offence of unlawful wounding.

All three denied affray but were convicted. Hudson was acquitted of possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.

The jury returned unanimous verdicts after deliberating for eight hours and 23 minutes.

Judge Philip Statman said of the wounding: “This is a grave offence and unfortunately it involves violence in the street with premeditation and use of a weapon, namely teeth.

“We have a very ugly injury which has occurred. It is going to be long sentences one way or the other.”

Maidstone Crown Court heard the violence erupted on November 2 last year following bad feeling toward’s Mr Hayward’s family over a previous road rage incident.

His son Samuel had been with his wife Charlotte South and their six-month-old child in their Mitsubishi Shogun driving along Richmond Road in Gillingham.

Prosecutor Peter Alcock said they passed Hudson standing by an Audi A3 driven by Waters. They followed the Shogun.

Samuel phoned his father, who was working at a house nearby, to tell him about the situation.

When Miss South stopped at traffic lights, Waters pulled alongside and shouted: “Don’t smile —— —-, I will bite your —— nose off.”

Miss South replied that they had a baby in the car and she should back off.

She then drove to Cavendish Avenue where Ian Hayward was working. She went into the house with the baby.

The car containing Waters, Hudson and White stopped in the middle of the road and all three got out carrying bats.

They approached Ian and Samuel Hayward and made a group attack on them with bleach being sprayed.

Ian Hayward told of being held face down over a car bonnet when he heard a crunching sound.

“I initially felt very little pain but I just heard like a crunching noise, like somebody eating cornflakes if you like,” he said.

White, formerly of Kingswood Road, Gillingham, then held up a piece of his right ear saying: ‘I have got a bit of your ——- ear.’

Adjourning sentence until July 10, Judge Statman ordered reports on White and Hudson to assess dangerousness. He also ordered a report on Waters.

White, who was jailed for three-and-a-half years in January 2011 for the single punch manslaughter of Lithuanian Saulius Klevinskas, 35, in Gillingham, was remanded in custody.

Hudson and Waters were granted conditional bail. Waters’ father posted a £20,000 surety for Hudson, who will also be subject to a tagged curfew from 6pm to 6am.

Waters will be under a curfew from 8pm to 8am. She and Hudson will also be subject to an “exclusion zone” around Cavendish Avenue.

Judge Statman said of White and Hudson: “It seems to me there is no alternative to a substantial custodial sentence.

“This is grave violence and it needs the defendants to understand if they go about doing these things in revenge attacks or otherwise, they are going to go to prison.

“There is a history. Lord only knows whether I have heard the whole of the history in this case.”

Kent Online

A man has been jailed for three and a half years after admitting killing another man with a single punch.

Ruben White, 22, of Kingswood Road, Gillingham, was sentenced for the manslaughter of Saulius Klevinskas at Maidstone Crown Court today, Friday.

White was arrested following the death of 35-year-old Mr Klevinskas in Balmoral Road, Gillingham on August 21 last year. The incident happened outside a shop where White and three other man were sitting in a car.

Mr Klevinskas, who was originally from Lithuania, but was living in Grays, Essex. was coming out of the shop with two friends when it was alleged that someone in the car threw a can at them.

An argument began and Mr Klevinskas then went over to the car and smashed a window. White got out of the vehicle and an altercation between the two groups broke out. Mr Klevinskas received a single punch causing him to fall to the floor. He died from his injuries five days later at Medway Maritime Hospital with his family by his bedside.

After sentencing, DI Geoff Payne said: `This was a violent assault which had fatal and devastating consequences. Ruben White may not have intended to kill a man that day, but his aggressive actions and thoughtlessness resulted in the most devastating circumstances imaginable.

“I would like to thank the witnesses and residents for their help in coming forward to help with the police investigation into this incident. I would also like to thank the off duty Accident and Emergency Nurse who was at the scene and helped attended to the victim before the ambulance could arrive.
“This was a tragic case and highlights how one person’s irresponsible actions can prove fatal. If other people find themselves in this situation hopefully they will not act so senselessly, as it is clear from this incident that even one punch can prove to be fatal.’

Kent Online

Story from 2011.

Stephen Weeks and Drew Thorpe were found guilty by a jury at Warwick Crown Court after a five week trial.

These are the faces of two men sentenced to life following the murder of ‘lovable rogue’ Lee Brooks.

Stephen Weeks, 48, and Drew Thorpe, 19, were told on Thursday by a Crown Court judge that they would spend at least 16 years and 12 years in prison respectively.

The pair were found guilty by a jury at Warwick Crown Court after a five week trial.

The pair attacked Mr Brooks with a claw hammer and a spanner while he slept at Weeks’ home in Hugh Road during the morning of August 26, 2016.

Stephen Weeks (left) and Drew Thorpe (right)

Stephen Weeks (left) and Drew Thorpe (right)

Despite the best efforts of the emergency services and medical staff, he died five days later in hospital.

Weeks, of Hugh Road, Stoke, and Thorpe, of Hollis Road, Stoke, had denied murder.

Sentencing judge Richard Griffith-Jones said: “I am acutely aware of the terrible shock that it is when a loved one dies suddenly.

“When that happens in circumstances of this brutality it is all the more shocking. So also is it a terrible thing for a person to outlive their own child.

“I hope they will be able to pass onto Lee Brooks’ children memories of him and his character which will be so important…that they will be able to have affection and pride in the person that gave them life that is no longer there.”
Coventry Telegraph