Six sentenced for violence on city estate

Police say up to 40 youths gathered on the streets in Halton Moor

Six men have been sentenced for disorder offences over violence which broke out on a Leeds estate.

Police officers were pelted with bricks, bottles and fireworks on 7 and 8 November 2020 during unrest in the Halton Moor area.

Trouble had initially flared when a group of youths targeted a family who had moved into a property on Kendal Drive.

At Leeds Crown Court on Friday, six men aged between 20 and 26 were sentenced for offences including violent disorder and arson.

The court heard they descended on the address on Kendal Drive, and the family's car was attacked and set on fire.

When West Yorkshire Police attended, stones were thrown by a group of between 30 and 40 young people.

An officer was taken to hospital after a rock struck the back of their head and police vehicles were damaged.

The family's house was also attacked and burgled, with its windows smashed.

A dispersal order was put in place and public order units were deployed to the scene, coming under attack from missiles throughout the evening.

The following night, on 8 November, police vans were targeted with bricks and fireworks around the junction of Rathmell Road and Ullswater Crescent.

A garden fence was set on fire, as well as a member of the public's car.

CCTV and bodycam footage documented a total of 41 offences over the two nights.

Fireworks, bottles and bricks were thrown by a group of youths

An investigation launched into the disorder saw 39 arrests and 22 people have now been convicted for their involvement.

The force said the investigation, named Operation Digmark, had cost "several hundred thousands of pounds".

Between January 2021 and August last year, 13 youths and adults were sentenced at hearings at Leeds Crown Court and Leeds Youth Court.

On Friday at Leeds Crown Court, six of the remaining nine were sentenced:

• Calvin Smith, 26, of Wykebeck Avenue, Osmondthorpe, was sentenced to one year and nine months, suspended for 18 months, for violent disorder.

• James Anderson, 25, of Kendal Drive, Halton Moor, was sentenced to one year and five months, suspended for 18 months, with 150 hours of unpaid work for violent disorder. He was ordered to pay £1,000 in compensation to the police officer hit by items thrown.

• Kyle Saddington, 24, of Kendal Drive, Halton Moor, was sentenced to one year and five months, suspended for 18 months, and given a six-month night-time curfew for violent disorder.

• Morgan Thewlis, 24, of Forber Place, Halton Moor, was sentenced to 10 months, suspended for 18 months, and order to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and pay £600 compensation for arson.

• Lewis Hamilton, 20, of Rathmell Road, Halton Moor, was given a 12-month sentence, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to undertake 150 hours of unpaid work for violent disorder.

• Brett Hamilton, 22, of Wykebeck Avenue, Osmondthorpe, was sentenced to an additional six months for arson, on top of a prison sentence he is already serving.

More than 20 people have now been convicted for their part in the disorder

'Truly appalling'

Leeds District Commander Ch Supt Steve Dodds said: "The ugly scenes witnessed on the streets of Halton Moor over those two nights were truly appalling and caused understandable fear and anxiety in the local community.

"Equally, while it is the role of police officers to face challenging situations, I never underestimate how distressing it will have been for all the officers involved to have been the target of mob violence."

He added the detective work over four years had been "painstaking" and the majority of those involved had been brought to justice.

However, Ch Supt Dodds believed the disorder was the "opportunistic actions of a minority of local youths" and not a reflection of life in Halton Moor.

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