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Tag Archives: Salford

Climbing up scaffolding, storming Sainsbury’s and trying to smash a window… all ‘a bit of fun’

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October 7, 2024
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“He simply went along with it for reasons that he cannot really explain”

A thug who ‘randomly’ attacked shops and climbed up scaffolding thought his crimes were ‘a bit of fun’, a judge said.

Daylan Burgess, 20, has been jailed for his role in large-scale disorder which broke out in Piccadilly Gardens. Far-right activists had organised a demonstration for August 3 after three young girls died in Southport.

There was a large police presence as officers tried to keep the far-right group and counter protesters away from each other. Burgess’s lawyer said the defendant had ‘no understanding’ of the issues behind the demonstration, as he was jailed for 16 months.

Manchester Crown Court heard that Burgess, who had his face covered, was caught on camera having climbed to the top of some scaffolding in Piccadilly Gardens. He climbed back down and joined a ‘mob’ which had then moved down Mosley Street.

The store was looted, as innocent members of the public tried to do their shopping. Burgess, of Regent Square, Salford, stormed into the store with others and caused damage by knocking items from shelves.

Shortly after, he picked up a ‘large road sign’ and launched it at the window of a vape shop further down the street, as others also attacked it. Burgess was identified from footage where his face covering had slipped. He pleaded guilty to violent disorder.

You later remarked you thought doing this amounted to having a bit of fun,” Judge John Potter said of the defendant. Speaking of the incident in Sainsbury’s, he added: “Customers and staff in the shop were terrified as over £300 worth of damage was caused.”

Defending, Michael Johnson appealed for the judge to spare Burgess from being sent to prison, noting he has been diagnosed with ADHD and autism. “He is suggestive, immature, and prone to acting upon impulse,” Mr Johnson said. “He was a follower and not a leader on that day.

“He has no interest and in fact no understanding of any of the controversies that may have played a part in these events. He simply went along with it for reasons that he cannot really explain.”

But the judge ruled that Burgess’ actions warranted an immediate prison sentence. He told the defendant: “Your willingness to view violence and then cause damage, randomly, to two shops in a group shows, in my judgement, you pose a danger to the public.”

Manchester Evening News

PICTURED: The rioters, thugs and criminals locked up in Greater Manchester this week

By
September 1, 2024
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Prison terms are continuing to be handed out to those involved in the civil unrest earlier this month

More rioters have faced justice for their part in the civil unrest across Greater Manchester earlier this month.

Prosecutors have charged over 520 people following disorder across the UK, with the CPS saying they are ‘working around the clock’ with police to ‘deliver swift justice.’ In Piccadilly Gardens, a thug involved in an attack on a lone black man was jailed for 28 months.

In Bolton, two men were jailed for hurling missiles at the police as they tried to separate two rival factions during the disorder. And in Newton Heath, one man was handed 18 months in jail after he joined in with disorder outside a hotel believed to be housing asylum seekers whilst on his way home from the pub.

Niall Charnock


A rioter barged through a police barrier into a ‘neutral zone’ before launching a ‘plastic bottle’ at police officers during large-scale violent disorder in Bolton.

Bolton Crown Court heard how Niall Charnock, 31, was captured on video footage shared online ‘throwing a missile’ at officers and breaking down the barrier during protests in the Greater Manchester town on August 4.

Demonstrators and counter-protesters clashed outside Bolton town hall earlier this month as missiles were thrown at police. Chief Constable Stephen Watson previously said the ‘orchestrated criminality’ had nothing to do with lawful protest. Charnock was jailed for 26 months.

Mark BridgefordA thug who launched a ‘hammer fist’ at a lone black man during unrest in Greater Manchester has pleaded guilty to violent disorder. Mark Bridgeford, 50, of Delaney Heights, Salford, has been warned he faces a lenghty sentence


A grandfather has been jailed for joining a mob attack on a lone black male – the latest rioter to face justice for the sickening violence that erupted in Piccadilly Gardens on August 3.

Footage played in a court showed ‘cowardly’ Mark Bridgeford, 50, from Salford, was part of a mob of white men who attacked a lone black male in the square as a protest and counter protest erupted in violence.

The grandfather-of-five admitted he shouted at riot cops who moved in to protect the man ‘sort your own f***ing country out’ after he had punched and kicked his victim.
Bridgeford, of Canon Street in Salford, nodded to the judge as he was jailed for one year and eight months after pleading guilty to one offence of violent disorder.

Nigel Simpson



A rioter who was captured on CCTV launching an ‘item’ at the police told a court: “I was picking things up, officer.” Appearing on videolink from HMP Hewell, Nigel Simpson, 57, was jailed for over two years after footage captured him during the protests in Bolton on August 4.

At one stage he charged at counter protesters before running away whilst holding an England flag. He was then seen with a group who were hurling various items in the direction of the police, before he bent down and ‘collected’ items from the floor. He then launched a ‘missile’ at the cops, hitting one who turned round to see where it came from. Judge Walsh jailed Simpson, of Deerfold, Chorley, for 28 months.

Lewis Whitworth
Lewis Whitworth

A convicted drug dealer who took part in a ‘frightening’ attack outside a hotel which housed asylum seekers has been jailed.

On his way home from the pub, Lewis Whitworth, 30, a trainee mechanic, kicked a bus and joined a baying mob which hurled missiles and abuse at asylum seekers outside the premises close to his home in Newton Heath.


Charlie Mott
Charlie Mott


A lawless looter encouraged others to ransack a Sainsburys during widespread disorder in Manchester city centre.

Charlie Mott, 28, was captured on CCTV footage wearing a face covering as he gestured to a large group of rioters to go into the store on Mosley Street. He then followed them in, and stole numerous items.
As others stole large amounts of alcohol, one man was seen to run out of the store carrying bunches of bananas. A judge described it as ‘delinquent behaviour’ which ‘took advantage’ of the unrest.

Mott, of Eccles, was jailed for 18 months.

Manchester Evening News

Jailed, the ‘cowardly’ rioter who kicked and punched a lone black man in Piccadilly Gardens

By
August 28, 2024
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Mark Bridgeford, 50, a grandfather, joined a mob attack in Piccadilly Gardens on August 3

A grandfather has been jailed for joining a mob attack on a lone black male – the latest rioter to face justice for the sickening violence that erupted in Piccadilly Gardens on August 3.

Footage played in a court showed ‘cowardly’ Mark Bridgeford, 50, from Salford, was part of a mob of white men who attacked a lone black male in the square as a protest and counter protest erupted in violence.

The grandfather-of-five admitted he shouted at riot cops who moved in to protect the man ‘sort your own f***ing country out’ after he had punched and kicked his victim.

Disorder hit towns and cities across the country, including in Greater Manchester, followed the fatal stabbings of three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance club in Southport last month. Incorrect rumours – that the suspect in the stabbings was an asylum seeker who arrived in the UK on a small boat – spread on social media and appears to have fuelled the trouble.

Prosecutor Duncan Wilcock told Manchester Crown Court on Tuesday: “On the 3rd August this year there were large-scale protests in Piccadilly Gardens here in the city centre resulting from the tragic events in Southport where three young girls were killed and several others were injured. Rumours circulated online as to who was responsible for that and as a result of that we know far-right protests were arranged around the country in Bristol, Rotherham, Liverpool and here in Manchester.”

The protest in Manchester was alongside a ‘rival protest’ in Piccadilly Gardens, said Mr Wilcock.

Bridgeford was seen on footage later gathered by the police in the area for at least two hours, the court was told. A lone black male came into the area where the far-right protest was taking place and a ‘fight broke out’ which resulted in the black male on the ground, said Mr Wilcock.

“This defendant was one of those people who were throwing punches towards the male with clenched fists and the male goes to the floor,” said the prosecutor. The male was then ‘surrounded’ by members of the mob who kicked him to his legs while he was on the ground, said Mr Wilcock.

Bridgeford was captured on the footage listening to ‘heated discussions’ which were taking place and ‘makes no attempt what-so-ever to leave the scene’, the court heard. “He appears to be there willingly,” said Mr Wilcock.

Bridgeford was then captured running out of the Gardens towards Mosley Street before grabbing a rucksack being worn by an Asian male and ‘dragging him backwards’, the court heard.

Footage was played in court which showed riot police moving in to protect the black male from the baying mob after he was attacked.

Bridgeford was identified as one of the rioters by the subsequent police investigation and when he was eventually interviewed on August 16 he told officers he had gone into Manchester on August 3 to visit Metro Bank and to buy flowers for the grave of his late daughter for the first anniversary of her death.

The court heard Bridgeford had not been in trouble with the law for nine years although he had 12 previous convictions to his name, including for battery, harassment and taking a vehicle without consent.

Emily Calman, defending, pointed out her client had admitted his crime ‘at the first opportunity’ and added he had only gone into Manchester that afternoon for flowers for his daughter’s grave. She said her client was ‘swept up’ in the trouble as there had been talk at the protest of ‘saving daughters and saving children’.

“It brought about a considerable amount of emotion on Mr Bridgeford’s part,” said Ms Calman, who went on that at some points the footage showed the defendant ‘trying to help people away from the violence’.

The lawyer said Bridgeford ‘will live to regret’ his part in the disorder on a day when he had planned to ‘remember his daughter’. Her client had made no attempt to disguise himself at the scene nor to deny his involvement during his police interview, the court was told.

Ms Calman pointed out there had been a ‘considerable gap’ since her client, who has five grandchildren, had last been in trouble with the law. Since then he had ‘beaten alcoholism’ and had been ‘working on himself’ to address mental health problems, she said.

Judge Patrick Field KC said ‘one suspects it may well have been’ a racially aggravated attack but he said he would not sentence the case as such as the burden of proof had not been met to the ‘criminal standard’.

The judge told the defendant: “You became involved in ugly and mindless violence and behaviour for which one trusts you are properly ashamed. You became part of of an assault on another man in Piccadilly Gardens. It was all part of a mass gathering that’s been described as a protest although the purpose and the nature of the protest remains unclear to me.

“A group of men surrounded and attacked another man kicking and punching him and it was all accompanied by shouts of encouragement from others. You specifically became willingly involved in what’s going on, punching the black man to his back and when he fell to the ground you kicked him. Those were cowardly punches and indeed cowardly kicks.”

Bridgeford, of Canon Street in Salford, nodded to the judge as he was jailed for one year and eight months after pleading guilty to one offence of violent disorder. No friends or family members were present in the public gallery when he was sentenced.

Manchester Evening News

Tattooed football hooligan in tears as he admits swinging punches during Piccadilly Gardens riot, as more appear in court over unrest

By
August 7, 2024
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Liam Ryan wiped tears from his face as he was led to the cells below

A man who caused terror when he live-streamed an asylum seeker hotel has admitting stirring up racial hatred, as more people accused over the unrest in Greater Manchester appeared in court today (August 7).

Aaron Johnson, 32, was among a second tranche of suspects who appeared at Manchester and Salford Magistrates’ Court this morning following the unrest which took place in Bolton and Manchester city centre over the weekend.

A second man, Liam Ryan, 28, wept as he admitted violent disorder in Piccadilly Gardens. Disorder hit towns and cities across the country, including in Greater Manchester, followed the fatal stabbings of three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance club in Southport last week.

Incorrect rumours – that the suspect in the stabbings was an asylum seeker who arrived in the UK on a small boat – spread on social media and appears to have fuelled the unrest.

Aaron Johnson, 32, of Criterion Street, North Reddish, Stockport, pleaded guilty to an offence of distributing a recording intending to stir up racial hatred, contrary to the Public Order Act when he appeared at Manchester and Salford Magistrates’ Court this morning.

The court heard that on August 5 Johnson attended outside a hotel in Stockport where it is believed that asylum seekers were staying. Members of staff became aware of his presence, and it later became clear that he was live streaming on YouTube.

“Members of staff started to become concerned for the welfare of the asylum seekers. They spoke with the defendant and he became aggressive towards them,” prosecutor Laura Peers told the court.

“He started saying that people staying in the hotels had been throwing bricks at white people, for which there was no evidence.” Johnson became more aggressive towards staff and threatened to ‘smash their face in’.

The police were called and he was arrested. His livestream was obtained by police, in which he was heard to call the people inside the hotel derogatory and racist names, and further racist language towards them, according to the prosecution.

The stream was viewed by millions of people. Ms Peers said this posed a significant danger to those inside the hotel, as the stream was uploaded to Johnson’s YouTube Channel and was viewed millions of times. He has one previous conviction for a public order offence at a football match, the court heard.

David Philpott, mitigating, said: “He knows full well he has done wrong.” The case was adjourned to August 21 at Manchester Crown Court.

District Judge Jane Hamilton said Johnson had ‘no reason’ to attend the hotel.

He said: “You were taking pictures through the window of people who were trying to sleep and also made reference to the children who were murdered in Southport. That had nothing to do with asylum seekers or anybody else.

“The male who did that was born in this country. There was no reason whatsoever for this offence to occur.” Johnson was remanded into custody.

Liam Ryan, 28, of Thirkleby Royd, Bradford, pleaded guilty to violent disorder following an incident on August 3 in Manchester city centre. He swung punches at rivals during the trouble in Piccadilly Gardens and wept throughout his appearance in court.

Ms Peers said Ryan had previous convictions for involving himself in large scale disturbances, particularly at football matches, and was subject to a football banning order. “The defendant lives in Bradford and it is believed he travelled to the city centre with the purpose of taking part in the events,” she said.

“He played an active role in the violent disorder. He was seen swinging a punch towards the male, which did not connect. He then punched him again a number of times making contact whilst the crowd were shouting in the background.”

Mitigating, Mr Philpott said Ryan took full responsibility for his actions.

“He would like to apologise and have the chance to write a letter to the male concerned expressing his regret and remorse,” he said. Mr Philpott added that Ryan, a window fitter, had issues with alcohol.

Remanding Ryan in custody, District Judge Hamilton said: “You are a person who involved themselves in large scale disturbances and this in particular was a large scale disturbance. Not only that, you travelled from Bradford to Manchester, across the Borders, to involve yourself in this offence.

“Bearing in mind this disorder is ongoing, I find you would commit further offences if I granted you bail.”

Ryan wept throughout the hearing, and wiped tears from his face as he was led to the cells below. His case was adjourned until August 14 when he will appear at Manchester Crown Court.

A string of other accused appeared in court and either entered no plea or denied the charges against them.

Shaun Holt, 42, of Oak Road, Cheadle, Stockport, appeared in court charged with violent disorder following an incident on August 3 in the city centre. He did not enter any pleas to the offence.

Prosecutor Laura Peers said that at around 1pm there was a number of large scale disturbances which took place around Piccadilly Gardens. Applying for bail on behalf of Mr Holt, David Philpott, defending, said the delivery driver was also the sole carer for his ill daughter.

District Judge Hamilton remanded Mr Holt into custody. He will next appear at Manchester Crown Court on September 11.

Andrew Phillips, 27, of Ripon Crescent, Stretford, appeared in court charged with violent disorder in relation to the trouble in Piccadilly Gardens on August 3. He did not enter any plea to the offence.

Applying for bail on behalf of Mr Phillips, Michelle Crossland, said he had a stable job in full time employment as a mechanical engineer. District Judge Hamilton remanded the defendant in custody before his next appearance at Manchester Crown Court on September 11.

David Green, 41, of Hamilton Street, Stalybridge, appeared in court charged with violent disorder in relation to the incident in Piccadilly Gardens on August 3. He did not enter any plea at this stage. DJ Hamilton remanded Mr Green into custody. He will next appear at Manchester Crown Court on September 11.

Matthew Wilson, 31, of Parrock Street, Rossendale, Lancashire, has pleaded not guilty to three offences of racially aggravated assault. It is alleged that he was involved in an incident in the city centre on August 5. He denies involvement.

The court heard he had also allegedly made racist and homophobic comments. He was remanded into custody and will next appear at Manchester Crown Court on September 11.

As he was led to the cells, Mr Wilson punched the glass of the dock a number of times and shouted derogatory terms at the judge.

District Judge Hamilton hauled the defendant back into court after the lunchbreak asked him to apologise for his outburst or spend the next seven days in custody for contempt. At first the defendant remained silent and said: “Yeah, go on then.”

Probed to give a ‘proper apology’ by the judge, he said: “I’m sorry for punching the glass.”

Duty solicitor Mr Philpott said: “I saw him earlier over the lunchtime adjournment. He apologises. He is mentally frustrated by recent events.”

The case was concluded and Mr Wilson will next appear at Manchester Crown Court on September 11.

Alex Fraser, 20, of Leicester Road, Salford, pleaded not guilty to three racially aggravated public order offences. It is alleged that he was involved in an incident in the city centre on August 5. He denies involvement.

The court heard he had also allegedly made racist and homophobic comments. Applying for bail, his solicitor Richard Birtwistle said he was staying at a hostel in Stockport at the time, and has some mental health challenges.

DJ Hamilton remanded Mr Frazer, who looked visibly upset, into custody and he will next appear before Manchester Crown Court on September 11.
Manchester Evening News

Bensham paedophile Kane Hutchison jailed again for breaching foreign travel rules after changing name

By
March 23, 2022
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Former football coach Hutchison, who was nicknamed the ‘Beast of Bensham’, was locked up in 2015 for sex offences against teenage boys

Paedophile Kane Hutchison has been jailed again for breaching his foreign travel rules after changing his name.

Former football coach Hutchison was nicknamed the ‘Beast of Bensham’ after he was jailed for four years in 2015 for targeting two teenage boys over the internet and inciting them into sexual activity online.

And now the sex predator has been convicted of failing to comply with foreign travel notification requirements imposed following his conviction.

Now using the name Mason Maxwell, Hutchison was found guilty of the new offences at Manchester Crown Court last week.

The court heard how the requirements had been imposed following his 2015 conviction of two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

Mason Maxwell aka Kane Hutchison

The Chronicle reported at the time how Hutchison, who is originally from Gateshead, exploited his young victims’ interest in football to target them.

A former family friend told how he would falsely claim to be associated with the Newcastle Gremlins hooligan firm to either impress or intimidate vulnerable young people.

And the coach would also brag of links with agents and offer youngsters the hope of a soccer career to lure them under his control.

When he was convicted of the 2015 offences he was already behind bars having been jailed for three years for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy after offering to take him to watch a football match.

Greater Manchester Police say Hutchison, who was known to them as Maxwell, was charged with four counts of failing to comply with the notification requirements, which inform officers of any foreign travel, between September and December last year.

He was arrested in Salford in January.

The 32-year-old, now of HMP Forest Bank, was also sentenced for breach of a suspended sentence order which was investigated by West Yorkshire Police.

He was jailed for one year and four months.

In a statement, Greater Manchester Police said: “Mason Maxwell, of HMP Forest Bank, was jailed at Manchester Crown Court after being found guilty of failing to comply with notification requirements. Maxwell was sentenced to one year and four months imprisonment.

“On Thursday January 6 Maxwell was arrested at Clowes Street, Salford and subsequently charged with four counts of failing to comply with notification requirements relating to failure to comply with foreign travel notifications.

“The offences relate to incidents on September 3, September 24, November 4 and December 1, where Maxwell failed to register his intended foreign travel seven days ahead of departing the UK.

“Maxwell is required to notify intended foreign travel as part of conditions following his conviction of two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity on in March 2015.

“He was also sentenced for breach of a suspended sentence order which was investigated by West Yorkshire Police.”

Chronicle Live.

White supremacist who targeted Jess Philips sentenced to two years in prison

By
April 9, 2021
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Tony Eckersley sent a picture of Jo Cox along with the threat to ‘have you dealt with’

A white supremacist has been jailed for more than two years after sending hundreds of violent, misogynistic and racist messages to Labour MP Jess Phillips.

Tony Eckersley, 52, from Salford, Greater Manchester, sent the Labour MP more than 300 threatening messages over a nine-month period.

Within the emails, Eckersley sent Phillips, who is shadow minister for domestic violence and safeguarding, a picture of Jo Cox, the Labour MP who was murdered in 2016 , accompanied with the message: “I will have you dealt with.”

In the emails, Eckersley called Phillips a “treasonous cow” and a “virtue signalling rape facilitator” and said that it would be “appropriate” for her and other MPs to be blown up during a terror attack at the House of Commons.

Although police initially warned him about his conduct, Eckersley continued to message Phillips at her constituency office in Birmingham, accusing her of “abusing her authority and privilege to shut him down like so many British heroes”. His messages also contained extreme racist language, aimed predominantly towards those from an Asian or Muslim background. He was later arrested.

Eckersley was sentenced to 28 months in prison at Manchester crown court on Friday, after pleading guilty to racially aggravated harassment of the MP between May 2019 and February 2020.

He is also subject to a restraining order that bans him from being within 100 metres of Phillips’s home and workplace, and is prohibited from any kind of communication with her for 10 years.

The court also heard that Eckersley has originally sent abusive emails to the Labour MP Graham Stringer in 2018, and that he targeted Phillips because of her views on issues relating to women’s rights and gendered violence.

The prosecutor, Robert Hall, said: “He said people in the UK would become violent, including sexually violent, towards Phillips and other politicians as a response to the alleged behaviour of those politicians.”

Judge Hilary Manley, who delivered the sentencing, said that Eckersley was an “inadequate man” who “cannot cope with the reality of having reached your 50s without ever really achieving much save for a habit of sitting at your keyboard venting your frustration at others”.

She continued, saying that the “ranting, hate-filled and threatening messages contained repeated and vile slurs directed at Muslim and Arab people, repulsive language and calculated and spiteful misogyny towards a serving MP”, and that targeting a serving MP and seeking to intimidate and silence her “strikes at the heart of democracy”.

The Guardian

Man jailed for painting racist graffiti on family’s Salford home

By
May 16, 2019
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Vaughan Dowd, 55, jailed for 12 months for writing ‘no blacks’ on front door

Vaughan Dowd. Photograph: Greater Manchester Police/PA

Vaughan Dowd. Photograph: Greater Manchester Police/PA

A man who daubed “no blacks” on the front door of the home of a Salford man and his 10-year-old son has been jailed for 12 months.

A court heard that Brexit and immigration were playing on the mind of Vaughan Dowd, 55, when he vandalised the home of Jackson Yamba, five days after the solicitor and his son moved into their flat in Greater Manchester.

Yamba, 38, said the racist graffiti had left his son, David, afraid to live in his own home after it appeared on three doors in their building on 8 February.

An image of the graffiti, tweeted by Yamba, was shared more than 12,000 times and prompted a wave of support from police, politicians and members of the public.

Manchester crown court heard on Thursday that Dowd, a single man with no children, led a “sad life”, spending his time working then drinking alcohol and watching television.

Brexit and immigration were on his mind at the time, said Dowd’s barrister, Iain Johnstone, who added: “He wishes to apologise to everyone, including the community at large, for the trouble he has caused.”

Judge Alan Conrad QC, jailing Dowd for 12 months, told the defendant his actions were “crude, bigoted and extremely hurtful”.

He added: “This country, in particular this area, the cities of Salford and Manchester, have a long and proud history of diversity and inclusivity. We welcome those who, having a right to come here, do so and when they do, lead decent and productive lives.

“What you did was not welcome in any civilised society. You have experienced anxiety, but then again many people experience anxiety and would not dream of behaving as you did.

“In reality, this was simply an outpouring of racist views held by you for which there is no excuse. It must be made clear that imprisonment will follow offences such as this.”

Superintendent Marcus Noden, of GMP’s Salford district, said: “This was a cowardly and spiteful act, and there is no place for this kind of hatred in Manchester or anywhere else.

“No one should be subjected to this kind of abuse, especially in their own home, and I hope the fact that Dowd must now face the consequences of his actions brings the victim some comfort.

“I also hope this acts as a reminder that Greater Manchester police do not tolerate any form of hate crime, and we will actively pursue those responsible and ensure they are brought to justice.”

The Guardian

EDL thug who hurled fire extinguisher at police jailed for 31 months

By
December 13, 2014
EDL, English Defence League, Jailed

Clockwise from top left: Ashley Rowland, James Cocks, Melvyn Parker and Jason Harris were sentenced on Friday over violence during last year's EDL protest

Clockwise from top left: Ashley Rowland, James Cocks, Melvyn Parker and Jason Harris were sentenced on Friday over violence during last year’s EDL protest

AN English Defence League supporter who hurled a fire extinguisher at police officers at “almost point blank range” as violence flared in Birmingham has been jailed.

Ashley Rowland was among up to 300 people involved in bloody clashes with police during a demonstration in the city centre on July 20 last year.

Thirty officers were injured with one needing hospital treatment.

Judge Richard Bond said Rowland was the most heavily-involved of more than 50 defendants due to be sentenced over the violence and had moved between various pockets of trouble.

He chanted racial and anti-religious slogans with others and aggressively confronted officers in Centenary Square.

And Rowland tried to scale a wall outside the International Convention Centre and threw a plank of wood which hit a police officer after he and other demonstrators raided a building site.

Outside the Hyatt Hotel, he picked up three pieces of a metal hotel sign which he also threw at a police cordon, Birmingham Crown Court heard.

At one point four officers became trapped on Broad Street and were surrounded.

Judge Bond told Rowland: “You picked up a fire extinguisher and forcefully threw it at the trapped officers.”

Rowland, 25, of Mexborough, South Yorkshire, had previously admitted a charge of violent disorder and was jailed for 31 months.

Three others were also sentenced for their roles in the trouble today.

Melvyn Parker, 47, of Mansfield, and James Cocks, 35, of Binton Close, Redditch, were both sentenced to two years while Jason Harris, 40, of Eccles, Salford, was jailed for 20 months.

James Cocks was sentenced to two years

James Cocks was sentenced to two years

They had also pleaded guilty to violent disorder.

Passing sentence, the judge said the atmosphere before the 2,000-strong demonstration was “highly charged” following the murder of soldier Lee Rigby on a street in London.

The trouble lasted for around two hours and broke out at seven sites as EDL supporters tried to break through a police cordon and reach counter-demonstrators.

The worst violence was in Centenary Square where missiles were thrown, officers were kicked and punched and portable toilets were used as weapons.

Gerry Bermingham, for Rowland, said he had set up a small business since the incident and was trying to rehabilitate himself.

Nigel Stelling, for Parker, said he was “out of control” with drink and drugs when he joined the EDL.

A total of eight men have now been jailed for their roles in the violence.

Yesterday, four other defendants were jailed for a total of more than six years for their parts.

Birmingham Mail

Man admits Rigby memorial graffiti

By
November 2, 2013
criminal damage, EDL, English Defence League

A man has pleaded guilty to scrawling graffiti about Fusilier Lee Rigby’s murder on the RAF Bomber Command War Memorial.

Daniel James Smith, 21, of Grecian Street North, Salford, admitted writing “Lee Rigby’s killers should hang” on the memorial in central London on June 5 – a monument he did not realise was a war memorial.

Colleen Gildernew, defending, said: “He had no idea that the war memorial was a war memorial.

“He is very disgusted with himself, even more so because of that.”

Smith also daubed “EDL” and “F*** the police” on the memorial in Green Park, prosecutor Izolda Switala-Gribbin said.

Smith was planning on going to Fusilier Rigby’s funeral but was arrested and could not go, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.

Ms Gildernew said Smith had applied for a job in the British Army but was unsuccessful “because of his convictions as a young boy”.

The court heard Smith has 44 convictions and has appeared in different courts five times this year.

Ms Gildernew said the experiences of Smith’s two army friends – one who has lost both legs and another who suffers from memory loss as the result of a bomb – had an “emotional impact on him”.

The damage to the memorial, which was created to remember the thousands of RAF crew who lost their lives in the Second World War, amounted to £870.

The memorial was vandalised twice in just over a week following the murder of Fusilier Rigby in Woolwich, south east London, on May 22.

District Judge Quentin Purdy described the content of the graffiti inflicted on June 5 by Smith, and its location, as “highly emotive”.

He added that Smith’s actions clearly challenged the “tolerance we all seek to see in society”.

Mr Purdy said people will want to know what the court is doing about people, “brains in gear or not”, who inflict such damage.

The judge said he was prepared to explore all “reasonable options” for Smith moving on rather than being sent back into custody.

But he said a custodial sentence was a possibility, adding “there may be no alternative”.

Mr Purdy told Smith his punishment should “reflect the public’s concern about your criminal conduct”.

He told the 21-year-old his actions “caused offence to many”.

The court was told that Smith has spent the past 11 weeks in Feltham Young Offenders’ Institution and was released only yesterday.

Mr Purdy said it was “slightly worrying” that Smith was released with few arrangements in place.

Smith’s previous convictions relate mainly to shoplifting, Ms Gildernew told the court.

She said he was brought up by his grandmother and had little in terms of family support, describing his childhood as “unsettled”.

The court heard that he left school at the age of 15 with no qualifications, battled cannabis addiction in his teenage years and struggled with homelessness.

Ms Gildernew said Smith, dressed in a colourful T-shirt, was “shaking and very tearful” before the hearing.

Smith also pleaded guilty to causing £510 of criminal damage to a wall of a commercial property in Knightsbridge.

Mr Purdy remanded Smith in custody and adjourned sentencing until Tuesday November 5 at the same court pending further inquiries into suitable arrangements for him.

Cambridge News