UK

Country braced for more court appearances after weekend riots

Suspects are expected to answer to charges such as violent disorder at magistrates’ courts across England.

Several people are due to appear at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court
Several people are due to appear at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court (Danny Lawson/PA)

Courts across England are expected to see appearances of more suspects after riots over the weekend.

A number of people have already appeared in court in connection with disorder which saw police officers injured and buildings damaged.

On Tuesday, many more are expected to answer to charges such as violent disorder at magistrates’ courts.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said one man, Jordan Parlour, 28, has been charged with intending to stir up racial hatred relating to alleged posts on Facebook, and is due to appear at Leeds Magistrates’ Court.

Six people are due to appear at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court following rioting outside a hotel which housed migrants in Rotherham on Sunday.

Lee Crisp, 42, of Mount Road, Grimethorpe, Christopher Rodgers, 38, of Millmoor Road, Barnsley, and Liam Grey, 20, of Randerson Drive, Mexborough, have been charged with violent disorder alongside two teenagers who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Joshua Simpson, 26, of Sherbrook Street, Lincoln, has been charged with violent disorder and assault of an emergency worker, South Yorkshire Police added.

Cleveland Police said a total of 28 people are due to appear at Teesside Magistrates’ Court charged with violent disorder and other offences following violence in Middlesbrough on Sunday.

The force said the court had set aside a remand court to deal with those appearing on Tuesday.

Merseyside Police said Dylan Carey, 26, of Castle Hill Road in Hindley, Greater Manchester, is listed to appear at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court charged with violent disorder following violence in Southport last Tuesday.

The force said a 15-year-old boy from Liverpool is due to appear at the same court accused of violent disorder following further violence in the city centre on Saturday.

(PA Graphics/Press Association Images)

Elsewhere, eight people have been charged in connection with disturbances that broke out during protests in Nottingham city centre.

Nottinghamshire Police arrested 15 people at a protest in the city’s Old Market Square on Saturday, with one woman and seven men aged between 18 and 46 now charged with a variety of crimes, including public order, weapon offences and assaulting an emergency worker.

Another man, Ashley Harris, 36, of Chipperfield Drive, Kingswood, is due in court in Bristol charged in connection with violent disorder in the city centre on Saturday, Avon and Somerset Police said.

The disorder across the country followed the fatal stabbings of three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club in Southport last week.

Previously, judges condemned the recent violent scenes, with one describing violence in Belfast as “absolutely disgraceful”.

Justice minister Heidi Alexander said the Government will bring more than 500 additional prison places into use to deal with rioting, and some 6,000 specialist police officers were at the ready.

She told LBC that courts “could possibly” begin sitting “through the evening, the night, at weekends” in order to swiftly prosecute rioters.