Two final men have been jailed for violent disorder after they took part in an English Defence League protest in Birmingham.

Michael Wilson, aged 20, was sentenced to a 12 month jail term, while 42-year-old Dean Kenny, was sentenced to 18 months in his absence after failing to attend court. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

The two sentences bring the total jail term imposed for those who took part in the disorder in 2013 to more than 78 years for the violent disorder, after 50 other men appeared before Birmingham Crown Court in December and earlier this month.

Around 2,000 protesters gathered in Birmingham city centre on July 20, 2013, where ugly scenes were witnessed by police and visitors to the city.

Operations were conducted across the Midlands and further afield to arrest those believed to be involved, with appeals to trace suspects on social media and BBC’s Crimewatch early last year.

The sentencing began on December, 11, 2014 with January 30 seeing the final two sentences being passed bringing the total of defendants to 52.

Superintendent Richard Baker, from Birmingham police, said: “Violence has no place on the streets of Birmingham, regardless of motivation or whatever cause people are supporting.

Express & Star

An English Defence League supporter from Rugeley has been banned from all licensed premises after a judge saw a recording of violence after the group he was in was turned away from a pub.

Ross Gilbert was the seventh man to be dealt with at Warwick Crown Court following a clash between EDL supporters and customers at the George Eliot pub in Bridge Street, Nuneaton.

He and the other six had all pleaded guilty to a charge of violent disorder following the incident which took place almost four years ago in February 2011.

Gilbert, aged 28, of William Morris Court, Rugeley, was sentenced to eight months in prison suspended for 12 months and ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work.

Judge Andrew Lockhart QC also imposed an exclusion order banning him from all public houses and restaurants where alcohol is served for three months.

He told Gilbert, who was given a football banning order last month because of drunken behaviour at the Hawthorns in December, he had escaped custody ‘by a hair’s breadth.’

Prosecutor Lisa Hancox said a group of EDL supporters, including Gilbert, had been to Luton for a demonstration and had to change trains in Nuneaton on their way back to Staffordshire. Several of them took the opportunity to head into the town centre for a drink, and after going to a kebab shop they headed to the George Eliot.

On the way one of the group was captured by a CCTV camera stopping to put on a cross of St George face mask before they congregated outside the pub where they were refused entry. There was a stand-off during which a drinker came out of the pub and confronted the masked EDL supporter, at which point Gilbert threw a punch at him.

And Judge Lockhart, watching a CCTV recording observed: “He was the first to use physical violence.”

Gilbert, representing himself, said: “I feel ashamed. It was four years ago. I was younger, stupid. I’ve moved on in my life.”

Express & Star

DRUGS CHARGES … clockwise, from top left, Thomas Allen, Deborah Ritchie, Daniel Sayers and Adam Sayers.

FOUR drug dealers were arrested when police launched an undercover operation to tackle city centre crime.

Officers who posed as users ‘Gary and Emma’ were easily able to buy drugs from strangers they met while hanging around the busy streets of Sunderland.

Over a period of weeks the covert cops were regularly offered and sold cannabis.

On one occasion they were able to buy diamorphine during a deal that took place near Hudson Street Primary School.

As a result of the operation, Adam Sayers, 27 and Deborah Ritchie, 28, both of Somerset Street, Daniel Sayers, 31, of Hill View Square and Thomas Allen, 29, of Guildford Street, all in Sunderland, all admitted drugs charges.

All four have dozens of previous convictions for a variety of offences.

Prosecutor Micahael Hodson told Newcastle Crown Court; “This was an investigation into crime generally, in the centre of Sunderland.

“The prosecution say Adams Sayers is the busiest of all and he involved his girlfriend Miss Ritchie.

“Daniel Sayers made the first approach to the two officers, who were sitting on a wall in Sunderland town centre.

“The crown submit they are street dealers.”

The court heard the first meeting with the undercover officers was in early April last year.

The operation came to an end in August when the home of Sayers and Ritchie was raided and 14 wraps of cannabis were found.

Between those dates the officers had been able to purchase small amount of drugs, in exchange for cash, cigarettes and even razors.

The deals were often arranged via mobile phone after the initial street meeting in April.

Adam Sayers, who admitted supplying and offering to supply cannabis, was jailed for nine months.

Ritchie, who admitted supplying and offering to supply cannabis, was sentenced to four months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, with a two month curfew.

Allen, who admitted supplying cannabis, was sentenced to four month imprisonment, suspended for 18 months with supervision and a two month curfew.

Daniel Sayers, who admitted one charge of supplying diamorphine, was jailed for nine months , consecutive to a sentence he is serving for unrelated offences.

Judge Paul Sloan QC told them: “Your offending was detected as a result of a police operation where two undercover officers were deployed to operate covertly in Sunderland.”

The judge said he accepted Ritchie, who has turned her back on trouble and is co-operating fully with officials who are trying to help her, and Allen, who has no previous convictions for drugs offences and has settled down with a family, were lesser involved.

The court heard the diamophine handed over by Daniel Sayers during his brief involvement was worth less than £10 and he exchanged it for 100 cigarettes.

Alec Burns, defending, said the class A drug was in prescription tablet form, which got ground down during the exchange near the school.

Mr Burns said; “It was not someone who had heroin ready to supply, it was someone who improvised at the time.”

The court heard Adam Sayers has been diagnosed with health problems and has vowed to turn his back on trouble.

Sunderland Echo

The EDL supporter in this article is Tommy Allan

A respected Gateshead football coach is today exposed as a pervert after reporting restrictions on his sordid secrets were lifted

Kane Hutchison leaves Gateshead Magistrates Court

Football coach Kane Hutchison can today be unmasked as a serial sex offender who targets young boys.

To the outside world, Hutchison was a respected young coach who played amateur football to a decent standard and enjoyed teaching youngsters.

But he harboured a dark secret – a sexual attraction to teenage boys – which can today be revealed for the first time after reporting restrictions were lifted.

Hutchison was jailed for three years last August for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy after offering to take him to watch a football match.

Now he has been found guilty of inciting two teenage boys to engage in sexual activity on the internet, abusing his position for his own gratification.

The court case last year heard the 25-year-old had been banned from coaching youngsters by the Football Association and had to curtail a training stint in the USA in 2011 after further allegations were made.

During that case, prosecutor Vince Ward said: “He has coached in the USA.

“There have been complaints made by other children which have not resulted in criminal proceedings or conviction, which have led to the FA banning him from coaching activities.

“That resulted in him having to curtail training in America.”

Mr Ward said Hutchison had played for a local amateur team and had coached youngsters there.

He said: “He played for a local team to a reasonable standard in local leagues and has coached children from that club as well.

“He has offered children private coaching sessions at his home address.”

The sexual assaults happened in April last year when he invited a youngster to attend an away match between Gateshead and Macclesfield.

Hutchison, who was banned from going to football matches after taking part in a pitch invasion in 2011, invited the boy to stay over at his home, saying they needed an early start.

He told the boy they would have to share a bed and soon announced it was bed time. Within minutes he began molesting the terrified youngster in the bed, the court heard.

The boy later reported to his mother what had happened and Hutchison was arrested within hours when police found him hiding in the loft.

Hutchison denied two counts of sexual assault but was found guilty after a trial. As well as the three years prison sentence he was told to sign the sex offender register indefinitely and was made subject to a ten-year sexual offences prevention order.

Nick Lane, defending, said: “The FA revoked his licence to coach children. He remains a coach but only in relation to adults

“He was involved at the time of his arrest in marketing and working for a football magazine.”

Mr Lane added: “He is a man who in the past has done considerable charity work and good work for the community.

“In 2013 he was part of a team raising money for Help for Heroes who over the course of 24 hours visited 20 Premier League grounds as a way of raising funds for that charity.

“He has used his football contacts in the past to organise a charity match for testicular cancer.

“He has also in the past used his sporting skills working with adults with learning difficulties to encourage them to participate in sport.”

Hutchison, formerly of Field House Road, Gateshead, has now also been found guilty of inciting two other boys on the internet when they were just 13 and 14.

The first victim knew Hutchison played for a football club in Gateshead and was looking into joining the same club.

Hutchison made contact with the boy on Facebook, where he was advertising for players, and they began to communicate.

Prosecutor Alec Burns said: “From the defendant’s point of view the communication became more and more sexual.

“He told him he could earn money making pornographic films, he said £350 an hour.

“He asked (the boy) to send pictures of himself.”

The boy told police Hutchison had communicated with him on ‘face tag’ and the pervert appeared on his computer screen via a webcam committing a sex act on himself.

He encouraged the victim to do the same and made him swap intimate pictures.

Hutchison also tried to meet the youngster in a car park, the court heard.

The offences started in the summer of 2013 and lasted until March last year.

It came to light last August when the boy’s family checked his Facebook account and saw the messages from Hutchison.

He had targeted another boy, aged 14, in a similar way between April and August last year.

Hutchison lied about his age and started asking the youngster to meet him, offering him £20 to do so.

He also sent him intimate pictures of himself on Facebook and Snapchat and encouraged him to do the same.

It came to light when the boy’s mother read about a previous court appearance by Hutchison and recognised him as one of her son’s Facebook friends.

Sentence was adjourned on the latest convictions until next month.

Judge John Evans told him: “Having been convicted of these offences I’m going to adjourn sentence now for a pre-sentence report to address the issue of dangerousness.

“You know only a custodial sentence can follow in relation to these matters.”

The trial heard Hutchison had been “struggling with his sexuality” at the time and has been on a sex offender programme in prison.

Newcastle Chronicle

Thanks to EDL News for this picture of Kane on an EDL Demo

EDL News

A NEWPORT man has been fined after posting racist comments on Facebook.

Jason Gwyer, aged 32, of Brown Close, was convicted of a racially aggravated public order offence after posting racists comments on Facebook in relation to the annual Ashura march which takes place in Newport.

The march organised by the Islamic Society for Wales was to commemorate the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussain who was killed in Karbala, Iraq, more than 1,300 years ago.

The details of the march were published in the Argus in November, 2014, and Gwyer posted a photo of the article along with racist comments on his Facebook page on November 12, 2014.

Gwyer posted: “Need this to go viral!!!! Muslims think they are going to have a nice little march thru my city on Sunday!!! think not!!! Need as much force as possable. We need to stand up and tell these vile pigs where to go!!! Who is with me??? Please share.”

He was found guilty at Newport Magistrates Court and fined £165. He also had to pay costs of £620.

He was also charged with producing class b drug cannabis and possession of a class b drug which was cannabis. He pleaded guilty to both offences.

He received a 12 month community order, a £100 fine and the drugs were ordered for destruction.

PC Ricky Thomas, investigating officer, after the hearing, said: “Gwent Police will not tolerate any type of hate crime in our communities. We will investigate it and put evidence before the courts for the offender to be dealt with.

“I hope this serves as a warning to people who think that by posting on social media sites that it is anonymous in some way – it isn’t and it’s still an offence. We would encourage anyone who has concerns about anything they see on social media to report it to us on 101.”

South Wales Argus

Kenneth Graham demanded cash from the terrified Middlesbrough assistant warning her: “I’ve got a gun and I’ll shoot you”

A robber who held up a late night store telling the terrified, lone assistant “I’ve got a gun” was jailed for three years.

Kenneth Graham, 21, arrived at the Premier shop in Middlesbrough on his bike at 9.30pm as assistant Ann Wilson was outside taking a cigarette break.

As she went behind the counter to serve him he demanded she hand over the money saying: “I’ve got a gun and I’ll shoot you”.

He was standing in front of her with his right hand inside his jacket rummaging around for something.

Prosecutor Rachel Masters told Teesside Crown Court that Miss Wilson started to panic and she hit the wrong button on the till, but eventually she took out a handful of £5 and £10 notes.

Graham, who was wearing gloves, said ‘Don’t you dare touch your phone’ and he left returning immediately to repeat ‘Don’t use your phone.”

Miss Masters added: “She was crying uncontrollably thinking that he had a gun.

“She saw a man at the cash machine and he called the police. Graham was identified as a possible suspect and he was positively identified soon after.

“She said later that she recognised him as the robber of the store having known him in the area where she lived.

“The incident left her extremely upset and scared, worrying if the person knew her and came back.

“She said ‘I feel sick about the whole incident’. When she was going to be a witness she asked for special measures.

“She said ‘I’m suffering panic attacks. I have been receiving regular support from the Victim Support network. I am struggling to do my work but it’s something I have to do because I need the money to pay my bills.”

Graham had 16 convictions for 29 offences including drugs,assault theft and burglary.

Jim Withyman, defending, said that Graham came from a respectable family but he had been threatened over a drug debt after he turned to drugs while mourning the deaths of two close friends.

He said that Graham, whose parents were in court supporting him, wished to apologise through him to Miss Wilson for the terror and upset he caused to her.

Judge Michael Taylor told Grham: “She is finding it very difficult to come to terms with what happened.

“People like her perform a valuable serviced to the public, and the message has got to out that those who commit these sort of offences will always received substantial prison sentences.

“You said that you had a gun and she was not to know whether you had one.”

Graham, of Ottawa Road,Middlesbrough, was jailed for three years after he pleaded guilty to the November 3 robbery of the store on Longlands Road, Middlesbrough.

Gazette Live

He was jailed last year for his role in the EDL rioting at the Birmingham demo in 2013. More info here.

A right wing extremist who threatened to blow up the Express & Star has today been jailed for eight months.

Darren Fletcher outside Wolverhampton Crown Court in November 2013

The warning was among a string of postings made on Facebook by Darren Fletcher that broke the terms of Criminal Anti Social Behaviour Order imposed on him along with a 12-month prison term in January last year for trying to stir-up racial hatred, a judge heard.

In those days he was called Christopher Phillips but tried to hide his identity by later changing his name by deed poll and using the handle of Whitest Knight to put extremist comments on the internet after his release from jail, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

On November 4 he posted a comment on a Facebook page supporting another man jailed for airing anti-Semitic views.

Fletcher’s message, outlined to the court, read: “Express & Star. The worst. The **** they wrote about me is unforgivable. Their head office needs bombing.”

In other postings on the same site he poured out his hatred for the police and the current state of Britain, the court heard.

He said he hoped the country came ‘crashing to its knees’ and expressed a wish that the terrorist organisation ISIS ‘bombed the **** out of the police’.

The 25-year-old was arrested by counter terrorism officers in a swoop on his home in Kitchen Lane, Wednesfield, on November 13, said Mr Robert Price, prosecuting.

Analysis of the defendant’s mobile phone and laptop computer confirmed that he had been the person who posted the offensive Facebook comments while posing as Whitest Knight, the court was told.

Mr Nicholas Towers, defending, said the law breaking comments had been made on a Facebook page supported by people with similar right wing views to those of Fletcher.

The lawyer argued: “He was preaching to the choir and expecting nods of agreement from his audience. This was not aimed at causing widespread offence.”

Fletcher, who suffers from autism and whose father committed suicide, was said to have recently attempted to take his own life.

Mr Towers continued: “He has an obsessive personality and is unable to see normal social limits, but with the far right movement he has discovered that the more extreme his views, the greater the approval.”

Fletcher was originally jailed in January last year after posting a YouTube video showing him dressed as a Klu Klux Klansman while dancing holding a golliwog hanging from a noose.

One of the images he posted on Facebook

A KKK outfit, National Front membership card, White Pride Worldwide flag and a copy of a letter to a German acquaintance of mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik were uncovered by police during an earlier raid on his home linked to the offence that put him in jail.

Mr Towers argued that the defendant needed help to ‘move off his current obsession with racism and to something more productive’.

The lawyer suggested that a prison sentence would simply serve to harden those far right beliefs.

Forklift truck driver Fletcher, whose partner is 18 weeks pregnant, admitted breaking the terms of his Criminal Anti Social Behaviour Order and was put back behind bars by Judge John Warner who told him: “You deliberately, defiantly and flagrantly defied the order and if I do not send you to prison it would act as a green light for you to carry on in the same way.

“You knew exactly what you were doing and realised you were likely to go to prison as a result.

“No doubt, you hope to be regarded as a martyr to your cause, but this punishment has nothing to do with preventing you from holding extremist view.

After sentencing, Detective Chief Supt Sue Southern, head of West Midlands CTU, said: “Fletcher blatantly flouted the conditions the court imposed on him by posting racist and anti-Semitic comments.

“We understand how offensive and distressing this type of behaviour can be and worked to bring him before the courts for a second time.

“West Midlands Police takes all forms of extremism seriously and we urge anyone with any concerns to contact us on 101.”

Express & Star

Two men associated with the English Defence League have been jailed following a ‘very serious and frightening’ mass brawl at a Sheffield city centre pub.

The fight at The Howard pub on Howard Street near Sheffield railway station involved members of the EDL and Unite Against Fascism and took place in front of frightened onlookers.

It happened at around 3pm on Saturday, May 10, last year, shortly after demonstrations by both groups in Rotherham had finished.

Mark Johnson, 34, and Derek Hemphill, 47, both from Huddersfield, were jailed for 12 months and one day at Sheffield Crown Court today after previously admitting charges of affray.

They were given six months each for affray, with time added to their jail terms for both separately breaching suspended sentences for past offences.

Johnson was caught on camera punching a member of the UAF a number of times, while Hemphill was seen on video delivering several kicks.

Fellow EDL member Adam Storey, 32, from Brushfield Grove in Frecheville, Sheffield, was given a 12 month community order and will have to carry out 60 hours of unpaid work after also admitting affray. He was also ordered to pay £300 compensation to the pub.

Storey was seen on CCTV delivering stamping kicks towards a man being held by others.

Hayley Ellis, 36, from Leeds, admitted a public order offence after being caught on CCTV kicking a member of the UAF in the back. She was given a 12 month community order, will have to carry out 40 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £200 compensation.

Glasses, snooker balls and chairs were all thrown during the wider disorder, with one member of the UAF having a glass smashed over his head.

Around £1,000 of damage was caused to the pub, with fighting spilling out on to the street outside the pub.

Witnesses said it had been a scene of ‘chaos’, with members of the public left fearing for their safety as the two groups clashed.

Sheffield Crown Court heard today that the fight had been sparked by members of the UAF coming into the pub with their faces covered while a small group of the EDL, including Johnson, had been inside drinking.

One member of the UAF, who has not been identified, went up to the group and asked them to leave the pub.

Johnson, who is mixed race, claimed when he started to confront the group, one called him a ‘race traitor’ – resulting in the violence starting.

Other members of the EDL who had been by the station ran up to the pub to get involved in the fighting, which spilled out on to the street.

Ian Goldsack, prosecuting, said tables had been overthrown, with chairs, stools, glasses and pool balls all thrown within the pub.

A window was broken and hundreds of pounds worth of damage caused to walls, ceilings and two chairs.

Mr Goldsack said one witness described seeing a member of the UAF having a glass smashed over his head before being dragged outside and assaulted.

The court heard one member of the UAF called Samuel Ross suffered a gash to his head during the fighting. Ross has previously been given a conditional discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice in relation to the case after he sent text messages to other members of the UAF asking what he should tell the police about what happened.

Sentencing, Judge Robert Moore said it had been a ‘very serious and frightening disturbance’ in which all four defendants had played a part.

But he added that problems had been caused by the UAF provoking the small number of EDL members inside the pub, resulting in the fighting starting.

Investigating officer Police Constable Chris Wright from Rotherham said: “Today marks the culmination of a lengthy investigation into violent disorder and I am pleased with the result at court today.

“Even though the demonstration in Rotherham concluded peacefully, a group of individuals seemed intent on violent disorder.

“These four endangered the safety of members of the public who were enjoying a drink in a Sheffield pub that day. It is lucky that nobody was seriously injured as a result of their reckless actions.

“I hope this case serves as a warning to those individuals who seek to engage in violent disorder that we will not tolerate this behaviour.”

Sheffield Telegraph

A MAN has been slapped with a community order after attacking a police officer.

Derek Hemphill, 44, pushed Pc Richard Needham with such force that he banged his head on a chest of drawers during a struggle.

Kirklees magistrates ordered him to pay compensation to the officer, who was left with red marks to his head and a cut jaw.

The Huddersfield court was told that on December 15, the officer was called out to deal with an incident at the house on Forest Road, Almondbury.

He arrived to find a woman in the living room who was upset and comforting her son.

Pc Needham was directed upstairs. There he found two officers with Hemphill.

Alex Bosman, prosecuting, said Hemphill was aggressive, pacing and clenching his fists.

“Hemphill went at him, his hands flailing in the air. He took hold of him round his head and there was a further struggle.

“The officer tried to break free from the hold and he was pushed back with full force.

“He fell backwards and banged his head on a chest of drawers, with Hemphill landing on top of him.”

Magistrates were told that one of the officer’s colleagues used CS gas on Hemphill and he was restrained with their help.

The bench was told that Hemphill, of Highfield Crescent in Meltham, was found guilty of the attack following a trial last month.

Magistrates gave Hemphill a community order for two years, including a domestic violence programme.

They also ordered him to pay £100 compensation to Pc Needham and £500 prosecution costs.

Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Hemphill was jailed for Violent Disorder after and EDL demo. More info here

Cleveland Police picture of Scott Weedall, 40, jailed for 21 months for assault at Teesside Crown Court

A harrowing 999 call captured the moments a terrified woman desperately begged for help while hiding from her attacker.

A hushed courtroom heard part of the 12-minute recording in which the petrified victim pleaded in panicked whispers: “Hurry up. Hurry up. Please please please.”

She sought refuge in a bathroom as her raging assailant Scott Weedall pounded on the door, armed with a baseball bat, bellowing: “Open the door.”

She was so scared she could not remember where she was or who had just been punching her.

A Teesside Crown Court judge said today it was one of the worst assault cases he had ever had to deal with.

Weedall, 40, repaid the woman’s kindness with violence after she took a taxi to his home on South Avenue, Billingham in the early hours of February 25.

She was concerned for him after he posted a Facebook message saying he was going to “end it”.

She saw him swigging vodka from the bottle after he had drunk 26 cans of lager and cider, the court was told.

After some “banter”, he exposed himself to her but she resisted his advances.

She got into bed with him but turned him down again when he tried to kiss and cuddle her.

He “exploded” and pushed her off the bed, trapping her between it and the wall, said prosecutor David Crook.

He hit her, delivering powerful, forceful blows to her head and face as she shouted: “Please stop.”

She did not remember how she got away, but locked herself in the bathroom and called 999.

She was so scared during the call it took her nine minutes to remember Weedall’s name.

She stalled Weedall as he banged on the door repeatedly shouting: “Open the door now. Open the door.”

Weedall bowed his head in the dock as he listened to the distressing call, apparently for the first time.

The call handler tried to get more information and reassure her while tracing her phone.

Weedall walked away from the bathroom door during the 999 call and had to be restrained when police arrived.

Officers had to convince the woman to open the door. She suffered a black eye, a cut lip, bruising and swelling to her face and head.

She later said in a statement: “This incident really shook me up.

“I’m so scared of what could have happened if Scott had got into the bathroom.

“It was like he had a split personality. He just flipped. He was so aggressive and is a big man. He’s almost twice the size of me.

“I’ve suffered violence in the past so this has brought it all back.

“I went to Simon’s in good faith to help him. I didn’t have to but I did. That’s what kind of person I am.”

Weedall admitted assault causing actual bodily harm. He had one old conviction for assault.

Peter Wishlade, defending, said: “He is utterly and totally ashamed of his totally reprehensible and undoubtedly dangerous behaviour.

“He’s not a persistent offender by any means. He’s not an assaulter of women in normal circumstances.”

He said Weedall still had little memory of the events.

He told how Weedall successfully tackled his alcohol problem and stopped drinking, but hit the bottle again when his wife had an affair and left with the children.

Weedall, who had character references, stayed sober since the assault because of his “shock, horror and amazement at what he had done”.

Judge Howard Crowson told Weedall: “A caring woman was trying to help you in a time of crisis.

“You attacked her having got her inside the house.

“You attacker her when she was vulnerable, when she was defenceless.

“You continued to try to attack her when she was locked in the bathroom, terrified. You were armed by this time with a baseball bat.”

He jailed Weedall for 21 months.

Gazette Live

A MAN was abusive and aggressive to police who were called to a domestic disturbance.

Ronald Wood, 36, refused to leave his partner’s home in Church Street, Marley Hill, Gateshead, on Saturday night after she telephoned police about his behaviour.

Appearing before Gateshead magistrates, Wood, of Lonnen Drive, Swalwell, Gateshead, pleaded guilty to breaching the peace – his second similar offence in five months.

Magistrates told him his behaviour was “totally unacceptable” and bound him over to keep the peace in the sum of pounds 300 for nine months.

He told the bench: “I can’t get a job and am at my lowest ebb.”

The Free Library

SEVEN greyhounds suffered for up to two months in “squalid conditions” without access to food and water.

The emaciated racing dogs were found by horrified RSPCA officers when they swooped on the home of mother and daughter Rose and Rebecca Hagger.

After seeing photographs of the animals – some of whom also had pressure sores and were kept in kennels with a build up of dog mess – Peterborough magistrates banned owner Rebecca (20) from keeping animals for 10 years.

Her mother Rose (51) was disqualified from keeping dogs for 10 years.

The court was told how on September 6 last year, RSPCA inspector Kat Parfitt arrived at Red Brick Farm, Edgerly Drain Road, Fengate.

There, she found greyhounds Itchy, Ted, Tommy, George, Jack, Dixie and Jenny in the kennels, with just small scraps of paper for bedding.

They were also flea-ridden and up to six kilos underweight.

But it was the “overpowering stench” of urine and dog mess which first hit them.

Prosecuting, Robert Starr said: “They were in squalid conditions.

“Small amounts of shredded paper were being used for bedding, which was insufficient to provide comfort and there was no food or water available.

“A number of dogs had visible pressure sores and lesions all over their body and appeared emaciated.”

Six dogs were taken into the care of the RSPCA and Jack was seized by police, although the pair retained ownership of him.

The pair pleaded guilty to seven counts of animal cruelty, including causing unnecessary suffering and failing to ensure the dogs’ needs were met.

In mitigation, the court heard Rebecca had just had a baby and was thrown out of the family home by her father, who owned the dogs jointly with her.

He subsequently died.

She had been treating the animals with flea powder, but when it didn’t work, she admitted not going to seek advice from the vet.

Her mother, who didn’t own or have specialist knowledge of caring for the animals, tried to care for them after her husband’s death, but couldn’t cope.

Defending Rose Hagger, Jason Stevens said: “Her husband died and her daughter had a child. It was very difficult in that time and the dogs ended up in the state they were in.”

Addressing Rebecca, chairman of the bench Mary Morrell said: “We have seen some really appalling photos.

“You were well aware of how greyhounds should be kept. There was no access to water, which is fundamental to any animal.”

She told Rose and she was negligent rather than intentionally cruel.

Rebecca Hagger was given 200 hours unpaid community work.

Rose Hagger was handed a 12-month conditional discharge.

Both women were ordered to pay 250 costs each.

The court ordered Jack to be taken away by the RSPCA.

Peterborough Today

This story is from 2008 and pre-dates her involvement with the EDL but she is still subject to the banning order.

A THUG armed himself with a lock knife after claiming he had been bottled by the “young team”.

James Marsland said he took the Poundland locking knife from a party he had been at in Westcliff in the early hours of February 20.

The 20-year-old then walked towards his home in Castlehill’s Cumbrae Crescent South, but was stopped and searched by police at the scheme’s Clyde Stores.

Last week Marsland appeared at Dumbarton Sheriff Court after admitting the offence.

Fiscal depute Sheila McDermid said officers spotted Marsland at the rear of the store. After being told he would be searched, Marsland admitted to officers he had a knife in his pocket.

When asked why he had it, Marsland told police: “I’ve got it cause I got bottled the other night by the young team”.

Officers asked why the knife was in the open position and Marsland said: “Well, it’s nae use shut”.

Roddy Boag, defending, said Marsland had been taking a shortcut to his home when he was stopped by police.

He added: “The night before he had been assaulted by a group of people known as the young team and that had happened outside his house. He had been struck with a bottle.

“He had been at a party with some friends and he had something to drink which clearly affected his ability to make some proper decisions.

“He got the knife at the party. A number of friends had stated they were staying at the party and he did not want to stay but wanted to go home.

“He tells me that the item was a Poundland locking knife.

“The accused accepts he has a previous conviction and has served a three month sentence.”

Sheriff Simon Pender said in view of Marsland’s record only a custodial sentence would be appropriate.

He added: “The carrying of knives in this jurisdiction is far too common and must be deterred for the safety of the public.”

Marsland was jailed for 18 months.

Daily Record

From his Facebook account.

A SERIAL blade carrier claimed he had a Swiss lockback knife shoved down his sock because he was going to fix it.

James Marsland made the bizarre claim that the lockback knife had broken when he and his cousin tried to cut around empty plastic bottles to make cups at a last-minute house party.

He had gone out to buy more alcohol with a friend, with the knife stuffed in his sock, when he was spotted by cops in an unmarked car on Howatshaws Road in Bellsmyre on July 22 at 9.40pm.

The 21-year-old, who has two previous convictions for knife carrying and had been in custody since the most recent incident, appeared at Dumbarton Sheriff Court last week after admitting possessing the knife in a public place.

Malcolm Macleod, fiscal depute, said: “The accused was asked if he consented to being voluntarily searched. He raised his arms and said ‘search away, I have nothing on me’. A lockback knife was recovered in his sock. He was immediately cautioned and explained that it was a Swiss lockback knife and that he had it because he was trying to fix it for his cousin because it was broken. He said he was on his way to the shops.”

Marsland’s case had to be stopped and called again – after the wrong knife was brought before the sheriff’s inspection.

Court staff had retrieved a similar looking deadly blade from Marsland’s file following one of his previous convictions.

Roddy Boag, Marsland’s defence lawyer, confirmed that a spring on the knife was broken.

He said: “On the night this happened he went to his cousin’s house and there was an impromptu party and alcohol was being consumed. There were empty plastic bottles in the house and his cousin used this knife to start cutting around the bottle to make cups for the drink which was in the house and the accused had the knife as well. The knife is broken but the locking mechanism is still working.

“He told his cousin he would try and fix it and he put it down his sock and forgot it was there. He left the house with one of the girls to go to the local shop to buy more drink. It is a somewhat unusual explanation and that is what he told police.

“His lack of judgement seems to be because of drink. He cooperated fully with police and consented to them searching him, which confirms his position that he forgot it was there. He understands that a sentence is inevitable.”

Sheriff Simon Fraser said: “This is your third conviction under section 49 for possession of a knife. You just do not seem to be learning. The maximum sentence a court can inflict on you for this is four years, so bear that in mind for next time you decide to take a knife out.”

Marsland was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Daily Record

Shaun Jones, 19, of Haydn Road, West Derby, jailed for nine years for sex attacks on girl, 12,

A Merseyside army cadet sergeant who groomed, exploited and raped a vulnerable 12-year-old schoolgirl was today jailed for nine years.

Predator Shaun Jones manipulated and humiliated his child victim as he carried out a string of vile sex attacks when he was aged 17.

Jones, of Haydn Road, West Derby, was today locked up on his 19th birthday after admitting a raft of 20 sex offence charges.

Liverpool Crown Court heard how Jones’s victim became “infatuated” and “obsessed” after he put her “under his spell”.

Judge David Aubrey, QC, said: “You took away her innocence, you took away her childhood, you took away her virginity.

“You sexually assaulted her in a variety of different ways over a period of time.

“I am quite satisfied that you were manipulating her and were doing so for your own sexual gratification.”

The court heard how Jones made the girl perform sex acts upon him, raped her, and indecently attacked the youngster in public.

He also demanded the girl send x-rated images and video of herself, and sent explicit ones in return.

The youngster told police that Jones had made her “fall in love” with him, even though she “didn’t want to be”.

She told officers: “I knew it wasn’t right. I knew I shouldn’t be doing it but I became obsessed with him.”

The girl also said she blamed herself and believed what happened to her was her own fault.

But Judge Aubrey said: “She was wrong about that. It wasn’t her fault at all.

“It was yours, in consequence of your grooming, your exploitation.

“That observation by her illustrates the psychological harm and the scars you have left.

“She was the victim, you were the perpetrator.”

The court heard that the girl was undergoing counselling and had become withdrawn, often locking herself in her bedroom.

Judge Aubrey said she had suffered “everlasting and permanent” damage.

Robert Wyn Jones, defending, said Jones was remorseful and had tried to take his life while on remand in prison.

He said his client had “excelled” while in the cadets.

Mr Wyn Jones said: “He tells me there have been suicide attempts while at Altcourse, so to a degree he is a vulnerable young man.

“But I can’t press that too far because he initiated the relationship and persisted in it.

“He has asked me to apologise on his behalf.”

Jones was also indefinitely banned from associating with children and changing his name under the terms of a sexual harm prevention order.

Liverpool Echo

Jones was part of the Liverpool Scouse Nationalists, one of the various splinter groups. Thanks to the North West Infidels for bringing it to our attention.

Mosque protest

A PROTESTER has been convicted of shouting racist abuse from the top of a bus leaving a demonstration against a planned new mosque in Astley Bridge.

Shaun Jones had been at a demonstration led by the North West Infidels at the site of the proposed mosque in Blackburn Road on on Saturday, August 2, last year.

After the protest, Jones was seen to racially abuse a group of Asian men after poking his head through the roof of the bus and gesticulating at the crowd.

Jones left but police circulated his description and he was promptly arrested.

The 34-year-old, of Cromwell Road, Eccles, pleaded guilty to the charge at Bolton Magistrates Court.

He was conditionally discharged for three years and ordered to pay £415 costs.

Jones had previously denied the charges but changed his plea, with the period of his conditional discharge rising from two to three years because it was racially aggravated.

Ch Supt Shaun Donnellan said: “There is no place for any type of racist behaviour, especially those individuals who use the guise of a peaceful protest as a way of verbally attacking our community.

“Any reports made to police will be thoroughly investigated and positive action will be taken.”

Dozens of protestors attended the rally organised by the far right group the North West Infidels.

It was the second large-scale demonstration at the site of the application made by Taiyabah Islamic Centre, with dozens of police officers deployed to control the protests.

Hundreds of members of the local community also took to the streets.

Plans were approved by Bolton Council in July at a meeting which was disrupted by angry protesters from campaigners when the decision was made.

Councillors had to be escorted from the Festival Hall at Bolton Town Hall while the protesters were escorted out.

Cllr Guy Harkin, who represents Crompton ward, said: “Some of the behaviour at the protests was obscene and disgusting.

“I am very pleased that there has been a conviction and regret that there have not been more, although I understand that the police have to keep the peace and it is very difficult to gather evidence in this sort of melee.”

The plot of land just off Canning Street has been earmarked for a mosque, complete with a dome, minaret tower and 19 classrooms.

Those behind the proposals say the new building will bridge the gap between “negative perceptions” of Islam and the faith’s true meaning.
Bolton News

Jonathan Rushworth, wanted by West Yorkshire Police

POLICE are trying to trace a man to send him back to prison.

Jonathan Rushworth is wanted for recall to prison for breaching the terms of his licence.

Rushworth had been released from custody after serving part of a two-year sentence for an offence of threats to kill.

He had been living in Dewsbury but is originally from the South Elmsall area of Wakefield.

It is thought that he may be in the Bradford or Blackpool areas.

He is described as white, of medium build, around 5ft 8ins tall, with very distinctive light blonde hair and eyebrows and blue eyes.

He was last seen wearing a dark Reebok hooded top, blue jeans, and black trainers.

Anyone with information regarding Mr Rushworth’s whereabouts is asked to contact West Yorkshire Police via 101.
Huddersfield Daily Examiner

This story is from 2011.

This grab is from his current facebook account.

Mark Pearson with his 18-year-old daughter Tina

HE was once jailed after holding his daughter captive – but 15 years on he’s back in trouble with the law, this time for protecting her honour.

Mark Pearson was locked up for eight years in 1996 after he sparked a two-hour armed siege, which left a police officer fighting for his life.

Armed with a commando knife, Pearson, then 21, stabbed PC Peter Walsh in the thigh, severing a main vein, then returned to his house and kept his partner and three-year-old daughter captive while armed police surrounded his property.

The horrifying ordeal only ended after police negotiators and his mother pleaded with him to give himself up.

But after pledging to turn his life around while in prison, Pearson has been hauled before the court once again – this time for assaulting a teenager who bad-mouthed his daughter, now 18, to his face.

The court heard Tina’s 18-year-old ex Robert Cummings told Pearson he would spread lies about his daughter around the village where they live. Pearson, 36, then pushed Mr Cummings to the ground and punched him in the face.

Speaking from his home in Pelton, County Durham, Pearson said: “Obviously, the biggest regret of my life was that incident where Tina was involved as a child.

“As her dad, I see it as my job to protect her, and that’s what I did when this kid insulted her like he did.”

Pearson, who lives with his partner and five children in The Avenue, admitted assault before Consett magistrates yesterday.

He also admitted possessing three air rifles which were found by police when they raided his home following the attack.

The court heard Pearson spotted Tina and Mr Cummings outside a supermarket cuddling in June.

He approached the pair and told Tina to return home.

Heather Wilkinson, prosecuting, said: “He told her to go home and for Robert Cummings to wait outside the property.

“Shouting could be heard from inside the property. Mr Cummings left and walked to a bus stop when a neighbour approached him.

“Pearson then came out and tried to start an argument.

“Mr Cummings said ‘I felt he wanted to have a fight’. He (Pearson) said: ‘Come home get a shovel and you can dig yourself a hole’.”

It was said that Pearson then pushed the teenager towards the ground over a bench and, as he turned to board a bus, hit him in the face.

But Susan Hanson, defending, said that while Pearson admitted causing the injuries, he did not accept many of the details of what happened.

He was sentenced to a 12-month community order with supervision and ordered to attend a calm course.

He was also ordered to pay compensation to Mr Cummings of £100.

Newcastle Chronicle

Michael Howarth was sentenced on 20 May 2015 at Thanet Magistrates’ Court.

He pleaded guilty to racially aggravated assault and racially aggravated threatening behaviour.

On 12 December 2014 the 55-year-old, of Crabble Lane, Dover, assaulted a man in High Street, Dover, and the assault was racially aggravated.

The same day he used threatening or abusive words or behaviour within the hearing or sight of someone likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress and the offence was racially aggravated.

Magistrates ordered Howarth to carry out 220 hours of unpaid work within the next 12 months and pay £250 in compensation, £150 costs and a £60 victim surcharge
Kent Police

Harris had posters of Hitler in his living room, the court heard

A neo-Nazi has been jailed for five years for attacking an Asian man on the day of Fusilier Lee Rigby’s funeral.

Richard Harris, 38, who has Swastika tattoos, smashed a bottle over Zahoor Hussain’s head at the Mornington Lodge in Blackwood in July 2013.

Newport Crown Court heard he got angry after spotting his victim talking to an “attractive white woman” colleague.

Harris, of Blackwood, was found guilty of racially aggravated wounding.

Harris, who said he was a member of a fascist “white pride” movement and had pictures of Hitler in his living room, shouted at the woman: “What are you doing drinking with terrorists?”

He then told the British Asian Mr Hussain: “You are all animals. This is not your country”.

‘Dangerous extremist’

Harris then smashed a full beer bottle over Mr Hussain’s head knocking him unconscious and leaving his left ear nearly severed from his scalp.

Harris told his trial “Hitler’s views are common sense on a lot of things” and claimed there “needs to be more research done” into whether the Holocaust took place.

He was found guilty of the attack, which left his victim with hearing problems and severe lacerations to his left ear and neck.

Sentencing him, Judge Jonathan Ferris said was a “dangerous extremist who is capable of extreme violence”.

Speaking after the case, Supt Mark Warrender, who is in charge of hate crime at Gwent Police, said the attack was a “disgusting assault” which had life-changing effects for the victim.

“The majority of people find his behaviour, which was fuelled by racism, abhorrent. There is no place for racism or any hate crime within our communities,” he said.
BBC News