Liam Powell, 28, of Hendon Court, Chorley, pleaded guilty to the possession of drugs, namely cocaine, at the riots in Bolton town centre on Sunday, August 4.
The court heard this morning that there was ‘large scale disorder’ outside a pub in Bolton, in which police attended.
Prosecutor John Potter said:
“The group appeared calm before encountering three males and one female. A search was conducted of one male, this defendant.
“The defendant was found in possession of a small snapbag containing white powder. The defendant was arrested and tested positive for cocaine.”
The court heard Powell, who has just started work as a fabricator, has 11 previous convictions for 17 offences including three drug related offences, an offence of robbery and criminal damage.
The prosecutor added:
“This offence is aggravated by the events over the weekend.”
Mitigating, Miss Black said:
“My client said he was using this in relation to an abscess in his gums, for pain relief. He did not realise it was cocaine on purchase.”
Sentencing him to a 12 month community order, District Judge Hirst said:
“This was aggravated by the high risk environment. The drug is associated with a lack of self control and violence.
“The community is always harmed by this type of possession – there was a serious risk of harm.”
Powell was also handed 80 hours unpaid work and must pay £199 court costs.
Far-Right Criminals 