Two brothers have each been jailed for three years after being convicted of being at the forefront of a riot outside a hotel housing more than 200 asylum seekers in Rotherham.
Sheffield crown court heard that Luke and Paul Sissons were involved in several violent incidents at the Holiday Inn Express, in Manvers, on 4 August, including confrontations with riot police and an attack on a police dog van.
Paul Sissons, 37, a tunnelling team leader on the HS2 project, was filmed over a period of nearly four hours. He was caught on camera shouting at police and chanting “Tommy Robinson”, throwing missiles at police officers and kicking and pushing at riot shields when officers tried to push the mob back.
His brother, Luke Sissons, 34, of Shafton, Barnsley, was also filmed among a group rocking a police van and at the front of a mob goading officers with riot shields who were pinned against the hotel wall.
Both men had previously pleaded guilty to violent disorder.
The recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC, said the brothers “were right at the front of the mob attacking those police officers”.
Referring to the footage of the small group of officers coming under attack against the wall of the hotel, he said: “It never ceases to frighten me, and I have the advantage of watching it days after the event in the security of this court room.
“It was a frightening incident and the young officers who were on that cordon must have been terrified by that mob.”
Christopher Rodgers, a self-employed gas fitter who filmed the rioting outside the Rotherham hotel on Snapchat, turned on officers when he was bitten by a police dog “in an area of particular tenderness”, his barrister told Sheffield crown court.
Rodgers, 38, from Barnsley, was jailed for two years. The court heard he did nothing but film for most of the events, but as officers were trying to clear pockets of those involved, Rodgers was in a group of people who threw missiles at the police in a nearby housing estate.
The court heard how, after he was bitten three times by the dog, Rodgers shouted: “Why are you refusing to take an Englishman to hospital?”
A man who screamed racist abuse at a shopkeeper in Barnsley was also jailed for six months.
Darren Clayton, 47, of Kexbrough, Barnsley, screamed “are you ready for tomorrow” at the man, after taking his shirt off and subjecting the shopkeeper to a stream of racist abuse.
Sheffield crown court heard that this was an apparent reference to planned anti-immigration protests on 8 August, which largely failed to materialise.
The court was told that on 7 August, Clayton shouted at the man, saying “what is your nationality”, “where do you come from”, “this is my town, my country”, and “you need to go back to your country”.
The court heard how Clayton later returned and was caught on CCTV pushing over shelving outside the shop. He also kicked out at police who arrested him nearby.
Clayton pleaded guilty to racially aggravated harassment and criminal damage as well as assaulting an emergency worker. Richardson said his behaviour was “ignorant, mindless, racist, threatening and shameful”.
Daniel Mennell, 36, was jailed for 27 months at Kingston upon Hull crown court after pleading guilty to violent disorder.
The court heard he had thrown missiles at police and taken a selfie with a stolen police riot shield during violence in the city on 3 August.
Also in Hull, Jackie Miller, 57, was jailed for eight months for a racially aggravated public order offence after she unleashed a “diatribe towards police officers” in front of her 15-year-old daughter.
Judge Thackray told Miller she had used “truly disgraceful words”.
Michael Campbell, 56, from Hull, was jailed for 20 months at the same court, after he used a bicycle to fend off a police dog during the riot on 3 August.
The court heard he had only been in Hull city centre to buy a suit for a funeral when he became involved with the violence.
The ship-loading supervisor used his bike as a “makeshift cordon to deflect police officers” and “fend off a police dog”, which then bit him on the leg, the court heard.
Jarrod Farrah, 32, was also jailed for two years and made the subject of a criminal behaviour order for violent disorder after he behaved aggressively towards police by “lunging” at them during violence in Hull.
Thackray said it had been “depressing and horrifying” to watch footage of the disorder.
Rory Allington-Mott, 34, of Newport, Shropshire, was jailed for three years and three months at Liverpool crown court after pleading guilty to violent disorder.
Police identified Allington-Mott from video footage of the violent scenes in Southport on 30 July. He was caught on camera throwing objects, including bricks, a wheelie bin, a plastic box and what appeared to be a picture frame towards police vans and officers.
Earlier this week, Liverpool magistrates court heard Allington-Mott had been convicted in April last year of religiously or racially aggravated criminal damage and served 24 weeks after a suspended sentence was activated.