Seven plead guilty to violent disorder during riot

Cars were set on fire during a night of unrest in Hartlepool on 31 July

Seven people have pleaded guilty to violent disorder in relation to riots last month.

Hartlepool saw a night of unrest on 31 July, in a wave of disorder that spread across the country following the Southport stabbings and anti-immigration-fuelled social media misinformation.

Tamsyn Carr, 21, James Elliot, 41, John Barton, 33, Natalie Wood, 39, and Dylan Wiley, 28, all from Hartlepool, and Mark Crozier, 38, from Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty at Teesside Crown Court.

Several others who were charged entered pleas of not guilty, relating to riots in Hartlepool and Middlesbrough.

One man also pleaded not guilty to violent disorder and assaulting a police officer.

Five of those who pleaded guilty are due to be sentenced next week, although Carr will be sentenced in October.

Meanwhile, Brandon Welch, 18, from Darlington, pleaded guilty to violent disorder on 5 August in Middlesbrough and will be sentenced in October.

Nine others denied a violent disorder charge relating to unrest in Middlesbrough on 4 August.

Two men pleaded not guilty to violent disorder, two counts of arson and racially aggravated behaviour over the weekend of 3 and 4 August.

However, as the court heard their case was not directly linked to the riot, a trial date was set for 20 January.