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Thug who forced Romanians from car during riot handed heftiest sentence to date

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August 16, 2024
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David Wilkinson was jailed for six years at Hull Crown Court following violence and disorder in the city on August 3

A thug who forced three terrified Romanian men from their car during a riot has received the heftiest sentence to date in connection with recent widespread disorder after being jailed for six years.

David Wilkinson, 48, previously pleaded guilty to violent disorder, attempted arson and racially aggravated criminal damage after playing a “prominent role” in the violence and disorder that gripped Hull on August 3.

His sentence came as a second riot charge was brought by police – leaving violent disorder suspects across the country awaiting news on whether they will be accused of the more serious offence.

Hull Crown Court heard Wilkinson was a member of a “baying mob” who left the driver of a BMW in fear for his life when more than 100 “angry” men descended on him and his two cousins.

The group tried to drag them from the car, before punching him in the head and attempting to strike him with a metal bar.

In footage of the incident, the three men in the vehicle could be seen getting out with their hands raised in a gesture of surrender before fleeing to a nearby hotel, the court heard.

At other points during the day of disorder, Wilkinson spat, threw missiles and pushed wheelie bins at a police line protecting a hotel known to house asylum seekers.

He appeared to be holding nunchucks – a martial arts weapon – at one point, it was said.

Elsewhere on Friday, Kieran Usher became the second suspect to be charged with riot in connection with disorder in Sunderland city centre on August 2.

The 32-year-old appeared at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court where prosecutors said he had acted in an “aggressive manner” towards police officers and threw missiles at them during the unrest.

The court heard he allegedly gestured towards officers and towards the crowds in the city centre in order to “encourage violence”.

District Judge Zoe Passfield remanded him in custody until his crown court appearance on August 23 after saying a series of video clips played to the court showed he had “a willingness to engage in large-scale disorder”.

It followed Northumbria Police’s announcement that a 15-year-old boy had been charged with the more serious offence after having previously pleaded guilty to violent disorder and burglary on Saturday.

The teenager appeared in court on Thursday and his case was adjourned following what a district judge called a “surprise” charging decision.

Liam Doeg, 33, who was due to be sentenced in relation to disorder in Sunderland, had his case adjourned as prosecutors consider whether to further charge him with the more serious charge of riot.

Sophie Allinson, defending, opposed the move saying her client had pleaded guilty to violent disorder at the earliest opportunity and had come to court expecting to learn his fate.

Ms Allinson pointed out that more than 100 defendants had already been sentenced for violent disorder following the disorder across England.

Riot is an offence that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison – double that of a charge of violent disorder.

Another lengthy jail sentence was handed down on Friday to a man who looted cosmetics chain Lush during riots in Hull.

John Honey, 25, was jailed for 56 months after he also helped attack a BMW carrying three Romanian men, targeted a garage leaving nine vehicles damaged, and pushed bins at police lines during the disorder.

A sentencing hearing earlier in the week was adjourned after a prison probation officer said Honey had asked him “if he wanted his autograph because he was famous”, which the court heard could have undermined Honey’s claim of being “genuinely remorseful”.

Four other men – Steven Love, 41, John Nunan, 36, Travis Whitelock, 23, and Corey Holloway, 20 – were also jailed for their part in the Hull riots.

A judge told Love he was “lucky not to be charged with riot” after his central role in the disorder as he was sent to prison for 40 months.

In Liverpool, Andrew McIntyre pleaded not guilty to charges of encouraging murder, encouraging violent disorder and possession of a bladed article at the city’s crown court.

Chris Taylor, prosecuting, confirmed to Judge Neil Flewitt that “in simple terms” the suggestion was that McIntyre was the administrator on an online group.

At Birmingham Crown Court, a rapper arrested after posting an allegedly “menacing” video mentioning Tommy Robinson will face trial in January next year after pleading not guilty.

Omar Abdirizak, known as Twista Cheese, denied an allegation of sending a grossly offensive or menacing message via a public communications network.

Two men and a woman were jailed for their roles in a protest in Plymouth at the city’s crown court.

Kerry Gove, 34, Andrew Ball, 49, and Grant Braidwood, 40, all admitted violent disorder before Ball and Braidwood were both give prison terms of 32 months, and Gove an 18-month term.

The court heard Ball has appeared in court previously on 51 occasions for 93 offences including racially aggravated harassment, alarm or distress and for public order offences.

Charges of stirring up racial hatred also continue to be brought before the courts across the country, with Wayne O’Rourke due to appear at Lincoln Crown Court.

The Independent

‘Famous’ troublemaker John Honey is jailed for his ‘central’ role in Hull disorder

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August 16, 2024
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The notorious troublemaker and looter who boasted that he was “famous” – and asked a probation officer if she wanted his autograph – has been jailed for four years and eight months.

High-profile troublemaker John Honey was “over confident and jovial” while he was in custody on remand and he shamelessly bragged that he was “all over social media”.

He claimed that he went to Greggs for a drink because the police pepper spray made him thirsty. His antics became widely featured on social media videos.

But Honey was jailed after he admitted his key role in the frightening large-scale disturbance and looting. He was repeatedly pictured in his England shirt gleefully taking full advantage of the chaotic scenes in Hull city centre. He was also involved in a well-publicised racially motivated incident in which a BMW car was badly damaged, Hull Crown Court heard.

Honey, 25, of Park Grove, off Princes Avenue, west Hull, admitted six offences, including three of burglary that featured a break-in at the Lush shop in Jameson Street, involving stealing bath and cosmetic products, as well as raids on the nearby Shoezone and O2 shops, both with intent to steal, on August 3.

He also admitted offences of violent disorder, racially aggravated criminal damage to a BMW and causing criminal damage to nine vehicles, including a Ford C-Max, a Renault Clio, a VW Passat, a Jeep, a Seat Leon, a BMW 520d, an Audi A4, a Chevrolet and a Skoda Octavia.

Robbery charges that were originally included in the list of offences to be dealt with have been dropped.

Jeremy Evans, prosecuting, said that “mass public disorder” broke out in the city centre, including several fights and disorder outside the Royal Hotel and near the mosque, off Spring Bank. A garage and tyre business was targeted. Fireworks were thrown, a barrage of threats was hurled at police and rubbish bins were pushed or set on fire. There was racist chanting. The railway station and the shops there had to be closed.

Looting happened at shops in Jameson Street, including Lush, Shoezone and O2. Honey was wearing a white England top with a red cross of St George but he later changed into a grey jacket, said Mr Evans.

The Lush store had to shut at 3pm for the protection of staff after it was “ransacked” – causing “utter devastation”. The damage caused at the nearby Shoezone store was put at £320,000. About £40,000 of stock was stolen from the O2 shop.

Honey was present throughout and he played a prominent role in the violence and public disorder. He was seen on CCTV wearing his distinctive white top with the red cross. He was involved at the front of the group who confronted the police outside the hotel.

Honey damaged street furniture and used them as missiles. A garage and repair shop in the Milky Way area was targeted and nine vehicles were damaged, all but one of them connected with the garage.

Honey was involved in that incident as well as one in which three men in a BMW car were confronted by between 100 and 200 males. Honey kicked out at the car and pulled at the door.

Threats to kill the three European men were made and there were shouts of “get them all out.” Honey made no physical contact with the three men, who managed to flee from the car towards the police and the Royal Hotel. Serious fear was caused to the men.

Honey had convictions for four previous offences, including possessing knives. He handed himself in to the police with the knives, saying that he was going to commit a crime.

Charlotte Baines, mitigating, said that Honey realised that he faced a prison sentence of some length for his “disgraceful” behaviour in “disorderly public conduct”.

The court heard that it had been claimed that Honey boasted while in custody on remand that he was “famous” and “all over social media”. He asked whether a female probation officer in the prison wanted his autograph.

He was “over confident and jovial” and he seemed to show “no remorse”. He claimed that he went to Greggs for a drink because pepper spray made him thirsty.

Miss Baines said that there was a “factual dispute” about what the probation officer had claimed about what Honey supposedly said. Honey still claimed to be genuinely remorseful. The judge decided to accept that he was remorseful without hearing evidence from the probation officer.

Miss Baines said that the offences involved “utterly disgraceful” behaviour from Honey and others. Honey was not associated with any specific group and he was not the “leader of a pack” during the trouble and looting.

“He has not specifically gone out with rioters,” said Miss Baines. “He has joined in.” Honey had suffered problems during his life and he had a very difficult start. He had not committed any offences for six years, since the knife offences.

“He has been able to hold down employment from time to time,” said Miss Baines.

Judge John Thackray KC told Honey: “You were front and central of everything, namely attacking police officers and throwing missiles, attacking a garage repair shop with terrified occupants nearby, attacking a BMW with three terrified occupants and burglary of commercial premises.”

Honey showed hostility based on people’s race and the burglaries had a substantial emotional impact on staff and caused a serious degree of loss. There was a high risk of injury to people because Honey was doing his best to assist others in exposing people affected to the “wrath of a baying mob”. He “yanked” at a car door while the terrified occupants were inside trying to keep it closed.

Honey showed no emotion and looked straight ahead as he was led out of the secure dock to be taken down to the cells.

Hull Daily Mail

Shameless Hull rioter ‘offered to sign his autograph in prison after boasting that he was famous’

By
August 13, 2024
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John Honey was one of the most notorious looters seen on social media during the violence

One of the most notorious looters seen on social media during the serious outbreak of rioting in Hull is said to have boasted while in prison that he was “famous” – and to have offered to sign his autograph.

High-profile troublemaker John Honey was “over confident and jovial” while he was in custody on remand and he is said to have asked a probation officer in the prison if they wanted his autograph. It was claimed that he showed “no remorse” and that he went to Greggs for a drink because the police pepper spray made him thirsty. His antics became widely featured on social media videos.

But Honey now faces being jailed after he admitted his key role in the frightening large-scale disturbance and looting. He was repeatedly pictured in his England shirt gleefully taking full advantage of the chaotic scenes in Hull city centre. He was also involved in a well-publicised racially motivated incident in which a BMW car was badly damaged, Hull Crown Court heard.

Honey, 25, of Park Grove, off Princes Avenue, west Hull, admitted six offences, including three of burglary that featured a break-in at the Lush shop in Jameson Street, involving stealing bath and cosmetic products, as well as raids on the nearby Shoezone and O2 shops, both with intent to steal, on August 3.

He also admitted offences of violent disorder, racially aggravated criminal damage to a BMW and causing criminal damage to nine vehicles, including a Ford C-Max, a Renault Clio, a VW Passat, a Jeep, a Seat Leon, a BMW 520d, an Audi A4, a Chevrolet and a Skoda Octavia.

Robbery charges that were originally included in the list of offences to be dealt with have been dropped.

Jeremy Evans, prosecuting, said that “mass public disorder” broke out in the city centre, including several fights and disorder outside the Royal Hotel and near the mosque, off Spring Bank. A garage and tyre business was targeted. Fireworks were thrown, a barrage of threats was hurled at police and rubbish bins were pushed or set on fire. There was racist chanting. The railway station and the shops there had to be closed.

Looting happened at shops in Jameson Street, including Lush, Shoezone and O2. Honey was wearing a white England top with a red cross of St George but he later changed into a grey jacket, said Mr Evans.

The Lush store had to shut at 3pm for the protection of staff after it was “ransacked” – causing “utter devastation”. The damage caused at the nearby Shoezone store was put at £320,000. About £40,000 of stock was stolen from the O2 shop.

Honey was present throughout and he played a prominent role in the violence and public disorder. He was seen on CCTV wearing his distinctive white top with the red cross. He was involved at the front of the group who confronted the police outside the hotel.

Honey damaged street furniture and used them as missiles. A garage and repair shop in the Milky Way area was targeted and nine vehicles were damaged, all but one of them connected with the garage.

Honey was involved in that incident as well as one in which three men in a BMW car were confronted by between 100 and 200 males. Honey kicked out at the car and pulled at the door.

Threats to kill the three European men were made and there were shouts of “Get them all out.” Honey made no physical contact with the three men, who managed to flee from the car towards the police and the Royal Hotel. Serious fear was caused to the men.

Honey had previous convictions, including possessing knives.

Charlotte Baines, mitigating, said that Honey – wearing a grey sweatshirt for his court appearance – realised that he faced a prison sentence of some length for his “disgraceful” behaviour in “disorderly public conduct”.

The court heard that it had been claimed that Honey boasted while in custody on remand that he was “famous” and asked whether a probation officer in the prison wanted his autograph.

He was “over confident and jovial” and he seemed to show “no remorse”. He claimed that he went to Greggs for a drink because pepper spray made him thirsty.

Miss Baines said that there was a “factual dispute” about what the probation officer had claimed about what Honey supposedly said. Honey still claimed to be genuinely remorseful. A statement will be obtained from the probation officer.

Sentence was adjourned for that information to be given to the court and Honey was further remanded in custody.

Hull Daily Mail

‘It was wrong of me,’ 15-year-old Hull rioter tells court

By
August 10, 2024
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As hundreds across the UK face their day of reckoning following the recent rioting and disorder, one boy seen hurling missiles at police officers has faced a judge while sitting shame-faced between his parents and holding his mother’s hand.

The 15-year-old was the youngest of four defendants making their first appearances in court in Hull on Thursday after trouble flared in the city centre.

Police officers were attacked, shops were looted and fires were started as a demonstration descended into violence in the Ferensway, Jameson Street and Spring Bank areas on Saturday.

So far there have been about 500 arrests and nearly 150 people have been charged following the UK-wide disturbances triggered by the fatal stabbings of three young girls in Southport last week.

Dressed smartly in a blue suit and flanked by his mother and father in Courtroom 1 at Hull Magistrates Court on Thursday, the 15-year-old was one of two men and two youths who admitted taking part in the disorder.

Acting as a youth court, it heard that the boy – who cannot be identified because of his age – had travelled from his home in North Lincolnshire to meet friends in the city.

District Judge Mark Daley was told the youngster was caught on CCTV throwing missiles at officers on multiple occasions – firstly on Ferensway in front of a hotel and then later on Spring Bank.

In between the missile-throwing, he moved to Jameson Street, where he encouraged someone else to smash the window of a Greggs store. He then went in and stole food before heading down to Lush to steal bath products, prosecutor Emily Robinson said.

The boy’s solicitor, Joe Painter, argued he was “ignorant” to the protests taking place earlier in the day, and he was encouraged to throw items at police after he “decided to involve himself”.

“There was no mask,” said Mr Painter.

“It’s not something he planned to do. He got carried away with it all.

“He’s now ruined his previous good character.”

When the judge asked him to stand up, he let go of his mother’s hand – she was on the brink of tears – and addressed him.

“It was wrong of me to do that,” said the boy, looking solemn.

The youngster is due to be sentenced on 2 September after he admitted violent disorder and two counts of burglary.
Police officers in protective gear standing in a line in front of the Royal Hotel on Ferensway

Earlier, Brandon Kirkwood, of Downing Grove, Hull, stood in the dock wearing grey sweatpants and top.

He was also looking sombre as Ms Robinson outlined to the court how the 20-year-old was “rioting in the city centre for several hours”.

“He was captured on CCTV pushing a large missile at officers,” she said.

The prosecutor described how he shouted abuse at the police and threw things at them.

Mr Kirkwood’s solicitor told the court he “had no intention of being involved” in the unrest and there was “deep regret” by him.

“He went into the city centre with friends to get food and found himself in the middle of the violent disorder.”

The 20-year-old, who pleaded guilty to violent disorder, was remanded in custody and will be sentenced at Hull Crown Court on Friday.

A 16-year-old boy from Hull then entered the dock to admit the same charge.

Ms Robinson said he was part of a large group of people who had pushed a commercial-size wheelie bin towards police officers outside the Royal Hotel on Ferensway.

His offending, which included throwing missiles and shouting abuse at officers, lasted several hours, the court heard.

Adjourning his case until 27 August, Judge Daley told him: “This is a very serious matter that you got yourself involved in… causing damage to the local community.”

The last defendant to appear in court during the session was Christopher Douglas, 35, of Avenues Court, Hull.

“He was at the forefront of violent disorder, shouting abuse at officers and throwing missiles at them,” said Ms Robinson.

“At one stage he was seen in possession of a police shield holding it above his head.”

The military veteran, who had been diagnosed with PTSD, was “very remorseful and very apologetic”, according to his solicitor Emma Bradley.

“He has some mental health difficulties,” she added.

Douglas was remanded in custody after pleading guilty to violent disorder and is also due to be sentenced at Hull Crown Court on Friday.

BBC News

First three Hull rioters jailed for ‘ugly violence’

By
August 9, 2024
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The first three people convicted for their part in a violent protest in Hull have been jailed.

Hull Crown Court heard police officers were attacked when missiles were thrown at them, shops were looted and a hotel housing asylum seekers was targeted during the violence in the Ferensway, Jameson Street and Spring Bank areas on Saturday.

Andrew Stewart, 37, of Anlaby, Hull, and Brandon Kirkwood, 20, of Downing Grove, Hull, have each been jailed for two-and-a-half years.

Christopher Douglas, 35, of Avenues Court, Hull, was jailed for two years and eight months.

Sentencing them, Judge Mark Bury said all three were involved in a “malevolent nature of violence”.

He said the “ugly violence” in Hull and other parts of the UK occurred following the fatal stabbing of three girls in Southport, and the killings were “used as an excuse for mindless acts of violence”.

All three had pleaded guilty to violent disorder at previous Hull Magistrates Court hearings.

The court heard racial chants were heard during the mass disorder, which started in the afternoon and carried on into the evening.

Prosecutor Jeremy Evans said projectiles had been thrown at police, and smoke bombs and pyrotechnics had been set off.

One police officer needed four stiches to his face and was “scarred for life” but “remarkably” came back on duty later in the evening, Mr Evans said.

Judge Bury said Douglas, a military veteran who completed two tours of duty in Afghanistan, was at the “front and centre” of the disorder while Stewart “clearly targeted individuals of the hotel”.

He said Kirkwood, who had pushed a large bin at a line of officers, had “to some extent been swept up” by the unrest.

“This was violent disorder of the very worst kind,” said the judge.

BBC News

Racist ‘mad scientist’ tried to lure underage girls for ‘sexperiment’ on Bridlington sea front

By
December 2, 2022
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Far-right extremist Simon Sheppard had previously denied the Holocaust happened



A notorious far-right extremist who made sick jokes about Jews being exterminated during the “Holohoax” set himself up as an eccentric “mad scientist” in a cynical bid to entice girls into having sex for a so-called “sexperiment”.

Simon Sheppard pretended to be a psychologist when he approached girls in Bridlington and gave them a card inviting them to take part in the bizarre bogus sexual experiment. The 65-year-old, who has strong links to Hull, has now been jailed for three years and nine months.

Sheppard, of Promenade, Bridlington, had been convicted by a jury on February 18 after a trial at Hull Crown Court of eight offences involving attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and inciting the sexual exploitation of children in Bridlington.

Recorder Tahir Khan KC told a sentencing hearing at Bradford Crown Court that a 21-year-old woman went with a friend to Bridlington on July 17 last year. Sheppard approached them, made conversation and asked them how they were and if they wanted to go on an adventure.

“You were claiming to be a scientist who had degrees and was conducting an experiment,” said Recorder Khan. “You were saying you were accredited.”

They declined the offer of going for a walk and having a drink. “He was holding himself out to be a psychologist,” added Recorder Khan.

Three weeks later, on August 12 last year, two 15-year-old twin girls were at Bridlington pier when Sheppard approached them and handed them a card and encouraged them to go with him. “The girls were confused and thought that the invitation that you were extending was creepy and they began to leave,” said Recorder Khan. “You got up and started to follow them. They ran and later told their mother what had happened.”

On August 21 last year, two girls were at the fairground at Bridlington pier when Sheppard – “wearing a suit” – handed one of them a card, which she took. “You disappeared quickly from the direction you had come,” said Recorder Khan. “You were encouraging these young girls to participate in a so-called experiment but they had the good sense not to.”

On August 31 last year, Sheppard approached two 14-year-old girls who were sitting on a wall eating ice creams and “came very close to them” before handing them cards. He told them: “Just read it.” The invitation was for them to have sex for £150. The police became involved and investigated Sheppard’s activities.

“You persisted in claiming that you were a psychology expert and you weren’t doing anything wrong,” said Recorder Khan. “The police found no evidence that you were, or are, a psychologist, nor could they find any scientific publication connected to you on a website. You were passing yourself off as a scientist.

“You passed yourself off as a scientist and approached girls in the hope that they would participate in penetrative sexual activity in exchange for money. You blamed the victims for what happened.”

Gareth Henderson-Moore, mitigating, said that there was no evidence that Sheppard had a specific interest in children and he has no previous convictions for sexual offences. “There were no images recovered from any device,” said Mr Henderson-Moore.

“There have been no previous markers of any kind to indicate concerns about children and he says that he does not have any interest in children. He has been rather broad in the people that he has targeted in this enterprise and there are statements from adults also who were targeted in the same way.

“The offending has arisen as a result of his wilful disregard for the age of the persons he approached rather than a particular targeted interest in minors.”

The offences were very unpleasant. Sheppard had vulnerabilities and had a marginalised childhood and adolescence. “He considers himself to something of a mad scientist and it is perhaps that which has led him into trouble on more than one occasion,” said Mr Henderson-Moore.

“He has spent a considerable amount of time on remand. He was convicted in February and has waited in excess of nine months to know his fate. That has been nine months of anxiety. He continues to be vulnerable in a custodial environment and reports that he has difficulties with other prisoners.”

In addition to his jail sentence, Sheppard was given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and must register as a sex offender for life.

History of racism and Holocaust denial

Sheppard had been jailed for nine months at York Crown Court in June 2018 after being convicted by a jury of using racially aggravated words to a Sky engineer. He had “barracked” the man while he was working on a satellite dish at a neighbour’s flat in June 2017.

Sheppard, then living in Selby, was also given a five-year criminal behaviour order. He had told the court that he was not happy that a black man had been given a flat in his block of flats and denied intending the neighbour to overhear racist abuse. It had been claimed that Sheppard regularly used a racist word when he saw the neighbour.

In 2008, Sheppard claimed asylum in the United States under freedom of speech laws after failing to turn up at court towards the end of a seven-week trial at Leeds Crown Court, where he was accused of publishing racially aggravated material. He was convicted in his absence of a series of charges relating to possessing, publishing and distributing racially inflammatory material.

He failed in his asylum application and was deported back to this country after being detained at a Los Angeles airport. He was later jailed for four years and 10 months but the sentence was eventually cut by a year after an appeal.

The material was anti-Semitic and racist, with what police described as “despicable references to the Holocaust”. Police said at the time: “You have to remember that there are people in our community who lived through the Holocaust. They don’t deserve to have their experiences treated in this way.”

Sheppard claimed that he was not breaking the law because he used an internet server that was based in the United States, but a judge ruled that the prosecution could go ahead. Sheppard claimed that he was being persecuted because of his right-wing views.

The police investigation began after a complaint in 2004 about a leaflet called “Tales of the Holohoax”, which had been pushed through the door of a synagogue in Blackpool. It was traced back to a post office box in Hull registered to Sheppard. One leaflet found by police suggested that the Auschwitz concentration camp was a holiday camp provided by the Nazis and that Jews from all over Europe went there to enjoy a free holiday.

In 2000, a trial at Hull Crown Court was told that Sheppard, then aged 43 and living in Westbourne Avenue, west Hull, had claimed that there was “nothing wrong with being racist”. He had been found with election leaflets parodying the deaths of the Jews in the Holocaust.

The police were called in after complaints from members of the public. He declined to offer pleas and not guilty pleas were entered on his behalf.

Sheppard and a youth delivered the two-sided leaflets to homes in the Avenues area of Hull ahead of the European elections. There was reference to the “country being spoiled by millions of immigrants from the Third World” and he suggested that white people, black people, Asian people and Jewish people should be segregated by “selective breeding”.

Sheppard had been found with 153 leaflets. The youth had another 248. The prosecution told the court: “He told the police there was nothing wrong with being racist and he was campaigning on behalf of the British National Party.”

He was convicted by the jury of publishing and possessing threatening, abusive or insulting leaflets.

Hull Daily Mail

The baby-faced ‘tyrant’ who grew into a merciless thug

By
December 24, 2018
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Sonny Grainger is only 21 but has already been in court 20 times

He was the baby-faced boy who became one of the youngest people in Hull to get an Asbo.

And Sonny Grainger is now back behind bars after making his 20th appearance in court this week.

Grainger was jailed for two years and four months for a shocking attack outside a Hull pub which saw him punch a man “for no reason”, follow him, kick him in the head and then brag about the assault to a bouncer.

Grainger, who was the second youngest person in Hull to be given an antisocial behaviour order (Asbo) has previously served two short spells in prison for his behaviour.

He was slapped with the order in 2009 and banned from seven streets after he “terrorised” the Boothferry estate by stealing cars, starting fires, assaulting neighbours and even smashing his own windows.

Neighbours described him as a “living hell”.

‘Wave of terror’

Sonny Grainger was once described as an 'ASBO Crimewave'

Sonny Grainger was once described as an ‘ASBO Crimewave’

PC Trevor Neeham said at the time: “Sonny Grainger has caused untold misery for the people of the estate. He has been a tyrant to people here.

“On a daily basis we received complaints about his behaviour, it is actually unbelievable how bad this lad was. He has been a one-boy wave of terror.”

He went on to break the terms of his Asbo just two hours after it was served with it, followed by a further five times in 18 months. He was eventually put on a tag.

Kicked out of 7 schools

When he was 13, he assaulted a fellow pupil at Bridgeview Special School, Hessle, after he was caught with cannabis on the premises. At the time, his mother said the order was no longer working and claimed she was not receiving the support she needed to tame him.

Grainger was diagnosed with ADHD and ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder), a condition where children have disruptive and oppositional behaviour that is directed towards authority figures.

In 2011, when he was 14, he returned to trouble and was given a second Asbo which lasted for two years after causing problems around the former One Stop shop in Hessle Road.

He was shoplifting, harassing staff and causing damage. By this point he had already been excluded from seven schools.

Just a year later Grainger was sent to a secure children’s home in Leeds after breaching the second order.

Grainger arriving at court in 2014

Grainger arriving at court in 2014

At the time, his mother said: “He was very upset when they took him away. He was crying his eyes out.”

She told at the time that her family were not getting enough help with him and her son “knew how to play the system” by a very young age.

Ward councillor Pete Allen said: “I don’t like to see any young lad get sent to a children’s home but if that’s the best thing fro him, it may not be a bad thing if there is a long-term gain.

“Sonny has to take advantage of this opportunity.”

However, he did not and he was soon back in trouble again.

In 2015, when he was 18, Grainger was back at court for attacking a man with a plank of wood after his brother had taken his own life the day before.

Hull Magistrates Court heard how Grainger took his frustration out on a man he mistakenly believed was trying to provoke him. He admitted four charges, including one of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and one of racially aggravated violence.

The victim of the attack suffered a number of facial injuries, including lumps on his head and bruising to his face.

Grainger also admitted racist language towards his victim. He was sentenced to 26 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, as well as a 30-day rehabilitation activity requirement.

Criminal friends

Grainger posed with guns with notorious criminal Liam Windas

Grainger posed with guns with notorious criminal Liam Windas

In 2015, he was seen in a picture on a Facebook profile with notorious Hull gangster Liam Windas.

The picture, from Sonny’s Facebook page, shows the pair posing with guns and smiling. Windas was jailed for 24 years in October this year after supplying drugs and guns across Hull.

Although Grainger has managed to behave since then it seems his troubled past was never far away.

Attacked man ‘for no reason’

This week he was jailed for causing grievous bodily harm after carrying out the sickening attack outside the King Edward pub in Anlaby Road “for no apparent reason” in the early hours of June 23.

Hull Crown Court heard how, after punching his victim, Grainger then followed him along Anlaby Road before kicking him in the head, leaving him and then going back and moving his unconscious body, leaving him and then going back and moving his unconscious body onto the path.

He then went back to the pub and “re-enacted” the attack to the bouncer.

Sonny Grainger has been sentenced for the attack

Sonny Grainger has been sentenced for the attack

His mitigation said Grainger had been thinking about his late brother – who’s birthday was coming up – and his former relationship which had recently ended.

Judge Bury said he had gone out to “drown his sorrows.”

Shocking CCTV footage was shown to the court.

Prosecuting, Mr Nigel Clive said the 21-year-old, now of Walsall Garth, had an “unenviable criminal record” who “first came to the court in 2008 to the youth court and he was back before the court regularly”.

Jailing Grainger to two years and four months – half of which he will serve in custody – Judge Bury said: “The incident was an unplanned one and your mental state was not the best that night. The CCTV doesn’t indicate any particular reason why you punched him, but punch him you did. You followed him and caught up with him at a busy junction and approached him.

“This was a repeated assault. You have previous for violence but they are not as serious as this. It is clear you are still young and I accept you are very sorry for what you have done but that doesn’t take back what you have done and for that you have to be punished, although I accept you had emotional issues at the time.”

Hull Daily Mail

The shocking, ‘bloodthirsty’ and racist past of Hull drug dealer Christopher Sirrs

By
August 8, 2018
Uncategorized

Sirrs was jailed for more than 12 years for his part in horrific racist attacks on Middle Eastern immigrants in Hull

Drug dealer Christopher Sirrs has this week been orders to pay back £3,000 from his ill-gotten gains – but he hides a shocking racist past.

Sirrs, 44, was one of two racist ringleaders who led a violent neo-Nazi campaign against asylum-seekers in Hull 14 years ago.

Sirrs was handed a 14-and-a-half year sentence which was cut to 12-and-a-half years on appeal, while his thug cohort Ben Povey was handed a 19-year sentence reduced to 15 years on appeal.

Bloodthirsty guttersnipes

During sentence, the judge at the time described them as “bloodthirsty guttersnipes”.

Povey and Sirrs mowed down an Iraqi asylum-seeker, sending him flying into the air “like a rag doll” and shattering his leg in three places. Later Povey, when asked about the attack, said to his girlfriend: “They should all die.”

Mugshots of Christopher Sirrs (left) and Ben Povey who was jailed in 2004 for racial violence

Mugshots of Christopher Sirrs (left) and Ben Povey who was jailed in 2004 for racial violence

It was just one of a serious of violent scenes which brought Hull’s racial tensions to melting point in the searing heat of July 2004.

Gang warfare

The city had become a battleground as gangs clashed in the streets, brandishing lead pipes, baseball bats, Samurai swords and planks of wood studded with nails. Cars were set alight with petrol bombs.

Judge Tom Cracknell said at the time the men were sentenced: “I regard Sirrs and Povey as very dangerous young men. They have not shown one moment of remorse about their conduct.”

Christopher Sirrs

Christopher Sirrs

The pair had joined the Hull Cruise Club – a group which spent its evenings driving souped-up cars around the streets.

Sirrs, then 30, was adept at manipulating younger members of a club which until then was described by police as a “nuisance rather than a menace”.

Thug who thinks he has a brain

Detective Inspector Mark Smith, the officer in charge, speaking after the men were sentenced said: “Sirrs is just a thug who thinks he has a brain.

“He likes to have people around him, likes to have muscle, and he seems to command respect among this element. [He] wouldn’t think twice about just petrol-bombing your house or car.”

Trouble flared in 2004 when a group of immigrants began driving their cars around the same area as the club. A minor clash led to a series of battles with cars being rammed or smashed up with baseball bats.

In mid-July Povey smashed the windscreen of a Vauxhall car driven by immigrants while Sirrs threw a petrol bomb at the vehicle. They pursued it with Povey swinging a Samurai sword from the open sunroof.

Mowed down

A few days later, two immigrants made the mistake of parking their car in the area before going out to a nightclub.

They returned in the early hours to be met by a gang hurling racist abuse because they believed they were among a group of Kosovans who had damaged the club’s cars.

One was hit with a baseball bat and the two fled up the street, with Sirrs and Povey in pursuit.

The car being driven by Sirrs, with Povey as passenger, crossed the central reservation and ploughed into the other man, sending him flying into the air, before driving off. Other members of the gang stayed to abuse the Iraqi with racist taunts as he lay there injured and in pain.

The attack led to further tension as members of the local immigrant community clashed violently with the gang members.

Witness intimidation

Sirrs and Povey had also tried to intimidate witnesses. Povey fire-bombed a car belonging to the family of a witness while both telephoned him to get him to change his statement.

Povey was convicted of causing Mr Mohammed grievous bodily harm with intent by a jury at Hull Crown Court. He was also jailed for making petrol bombs, intimidating witnesses, arson, violent disorder and possession of an offensive weapon.

Sirrs was jailed for grievous bodily harm, which he admitted, and convicted of possession of a Samurai sword and nail-embedded pickaxe handle, making an explosive substance, violent disorder and perverting the course of justice.

Others were also jailed following that summer of madness for assaults, arson, making explosives and violent disorder.

Sirrs has continued his life of crime and is back in jail after admitting possession of amphetamine with intent to supply and possessing criminal property.

Hull Daily Mail

Murderer and robber sent explosives from inside prison

By
April 3, 2018
Uncategorized

Bret Atkins and Jamie Snow smirked as their jail sentences were increased for the race-hate campaign they orchestrated from inside a top security jail

Bret Atkins, 24, and Jamie Snow, 27, sent crude explosive devices from the segregation unit of Full Sutton prison, near York and sent them to law firms in Halifax and Nottingham Photo: PA

Bret Atkins, 24, and Jamie Snow, 27, sent crude explosive devices from the segregation unit of Full Sutton prison, near York and sent them to law firms in Halifax and Nottingham Photo: PA



A murderer and a robber who sent crude explosive devices from the segregation unit of a top security jail to Asian solicitors as part of a race-hate campaign have had their prison sentences increased.

Bret Atkins, 24, and Jamie Snow, 27, smirked and laughed as a judge at Leeds Crown Court was told how they constructed basic incendiary devices made from crushed match heads in their cells at Full Sutton prison, near York, and sent them to law firms in Halifax and Nottingham.

Despite Atkins and Snow appearing by videolink from different prisons – Whitemoor and Wakefield – the two managed to exchange smiles with each other as details of their racist messages were read to the court.

Atkins – who is serving a life term with a minimum term of 20 years for murdering a man in Hull in 2009 – grinned even though his barrister told the judge he had converted to Islam since arriving at Whitemoor.

Judge Rodney Jameson handed down a seven year prison sentence to Atkins, who was found guilty by a jury earlier this year of conspiracy to send an explosive substance with intent to burn.

The judge ordered this to start 18 months before the end of his current 20 year minimum term and said this would have the effect of increasing the minimum term of his life sentence to 22 years.

Snow, who is originally from Leeds, was serving an eight-and-a-half year sentence for robbery, attempted robbery and possessing a firearm with intent when he sent the letters.

He was given an extended sentence of six years and three months after admitting offences of sending an explosive substance with intent to burn and making threats to kill. The judge said the extended part of the sentence meant he will be on licence five years after he is released.

Atkins admitted murdering 35-year-old Simon Ash in Hull in 2009.

A judge at the time said he and another man had ”callously and cold-bloodedly” killed Mr Ash, who was walking alone.

They kicked him and stamped on his head so hard that an imprint of Atkins’s shoe was left on his face.

Devices were sent by the pair but, the court heard, they were intercepted before they reached their intended targets.

The judge was told that both men had a “shared racial hatred” of Asian people and had threatened to kill Asian prisoners, attack the imam at Full Sutton and burn down mosques.

As well as the incendiary devices, Snow sent threatening letters to solicitors – one including an illustration of how to make a bomb using a light bulb.

Jonathan Sandiford, prosecuting, said Snow wrote a letter to a probation officer referring to Asian people as “dirty disgusting vermin”.

Prison officers intercepted a letter sent to Rahman Ravelli solicitors in Halifax from Snow in November 2012 and found a device inside made from crushed match heads and a striking device attacked to the opening flap.

When confronted about it, Snow said “two out of three is not bad”, according to Mr Sandiford.

The prosecutor said he was “claiming he’d already sent another two”.

Mr Sandiford said Snow sent a threatening letter to another law firm, signing it “your neighbourhood Muslim-killer”.

He said prison officers heard Atkins bragging in phone calls that he and Snow were vying to kill the prison imam, saying: “Me and Snowy have got a deal – whoever gets to him first can have an ounce of amber leaf (tobacco).”

The court heard Atkins sent a letter to Carrington’s Solicitors, in Nottingham, containing another incendiary device but it was intercepted.

The message included the sign-off: “Ha, ha, ha, boom. I’ve got my eyes on you.”

Mr Sandiford said the pair also conducted a dirty protect in the segregation wing of Full Sutton when they daubed threats against Muslims on the walls of their cells in excrement.

But Philippa Eastwood, defending Atkins, said: “He had converted to Islam since he has been at HMP Whitemoor and has been a practising Muslim in the time since he had been there.”

Snow – through his barrister Richard Simons – tried to get the judge to increase his sentence to more than seven years so he could get access to a mental health course in prison to address his personality disorder and other potential psychiatric problems.

But Judge Jameson said he could not take this unusual course.

The judge told the pair it was unlikely the devices they made would have caused any more injury than burns to the hands of anyone who opened them.

But he said they “exercised considerable ingenuity in making these potentially dangerous devices out of the materials at your disposal”.

The judge said: “In both cases, you sent improvised incendiary devices by the mail, or submitted them to be sent by mail, to Asian solicitors in the north of England.

“No injury was caused by any device that you sent. It is difficult to know the extent of the distress that you caused.”

After the hearing, Detective Chief Superintendent Ian Wilson of the north east counter-terrorism unit said: “Bret Atkins and Jamie Snow waged a campaign of hate against innocent people, choosing victims purely on the grounds of their race or religion. They expressed deeply racist and anti-Muslim views and sent a series of threatening letters, designed to instil fear in their recipients.

“Snow and Atkins took their hatred beyond threats to kill and even tried to post explosive materials in an attempt to cause harm or injury. Thankfully this mail was intercepted by vigilant officers within the prison service and was never able to enter the postal system.

“Snow and Atkins may already be in prison, but they will still be held accountable. We will continue to work with the prison service to respond to racially-aggravated incidents and punish those who seek to threaten the safety and confidence of our communities.”

Marcella Goligher, governor of Full Sutton Prison, said: “We are committed to the prevention of crime and are proud of the work our vigilant and highly-skilled members of staff do to detect it.

“These convictions have been secured as a result of strong partnerships, and we will continue to work with the police and the CPS to ensure prisoners who break the law are prosecuted.”

Daily Telegraph

From Sept 2014

Notorious Hull double murderer ‘becomes a Muslim vegan to start a new life in jail’

By
March 1, 2018
Uncategorized

A source close to Phillip Simmons said the May Street murderer is ‘doing OK’ in HMP Full Sutton

Notorious Hull double murderer Phillip Simmons has “converted his religion and become a vegan” in a bid to start a new life.

A woman close to the May Street murderer said Simmons has also given up smoking and “does nothing but read books” as he serves a 36-year sentence in HMP Full Sutton for murder.

Simmons was jailed in February last year after he admitted killing his housemate Daniel Hatfield, 52, and Mr Hatfield’s friend, Matthew Higgins, 49, in his back yard at 7 May Street, west Hull, in April 2016.

Phillip Simmons was jailed for life for the murders of Matthew Higgins and Daniel Hatfield.

Phillip Simmons was jailed for life for the murders of Matthew Higgins and Daniel Hatfield.

Since his imprisonment, the woman said he had converted from Catholicism to “a form of Islam”.

“He seems to be doing OK in there,” she said.

“He has converted to a different religion and is trying to come to peace with himself for what he did.

“He has stopped smoking and just seems to read books these days.”

Simmons is currently being held in HMP Full Sutton near Pocklington.

The maximum security prison houses some of the country’s most dangerous and notorious criminals .

They include Scottish serial killer Dennis Nilsen, who murdered at least 12 young men between 1978 and 1983 in London, and English gangster Curtis Warren.

Speaking about Simmons, the woman said: “He has gone vegan as well, and is really trying to turn everything around.

“He seems to be doing OK though overall – he is not ready for visits yet he told me, but he calls a lot.

“I think it would be too difficult for him to see his family. He got 36 years for the murders, so he is in for a long one.”

Simmons admitted two charges of murder and one of robbery at Hull Crown Court in February 2017.

Judge Jeremy Richardson QC told Simmons at his sentencing last year: “The circumstances are intensely horrific and demonstrate you are an extremely dangerous and violent man.

“I am of the view that it is almost inevitable that you will never be released from prison. I cannot foresee a time when it will ever be safe to release you.”

The woman said the Hull murderer was trying to turn his life around, and had taken a number of measures in a bid to do so.

Hull Daily Mail