Men who torched bus warned they face prison

Mark Mitchell, Milan Zamonsty and Iustin Dobre pleaded guilty at Leeds Crown Court

Three men who admitted setting fire to a double-decker bus during a night of disorder in Leeds have been warned they face prison sentences.

Mark Mitchell, 34, and Milan Zamonsty, 30, admitted their roles in the trouble which took place in Harehills on 18 July when they appeared at Leeds Crown Court earlier.

Remanding the duo into custody ahead of sentencing on 1 October the judge said prison sentences were "almost inevitable".

A third man, 37-year-old Iustin Dobre, who appeared later, was also remanded to the same date after admitting his involvement in the disorder.

A double-decker bus was set alight during a night of disorder in Harehills

West Yorkshire Police said Mitchell, who admitted arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered and violent disorder, had shaved his head to try and evade capture.

He initially denied both charges and shook his head as details of the offences were read out during his first court appearance on 23 July.

Zamonsty's solicitor Mohammed Rafiq said there was a "suggestion" his client, who spoke through a Czech interpreter, had been trafficked into the UK aged 18.

He also had learning difficulties, Mr Rafiq said.

"We don't say it as a defence but it's what's gone through his mind which I think is very important to be looked at in the pre-sentence report," he added.

He had been working at a car wash in York at the time of the offence and was living on Luxor Avenue, next to where the trouble began on Luxor Street.

Prior to entering a guilty plea for the violent disorder charge, Zamonsty told the court: "I was just standing there watching while other people threw things."

Mitchell, a roofer of Stanmore View in Leeds, had a previous "irrelevant" conviction dating back to 2015, his solicitor Haroon Khattack said.

Iustin Dobre was pictured trying to set fire to the bus

Dobre, of Clifton Mount, pleaded guilty to violent disorder in relation to the Harehills incident earlier, having previously admitted arson with recklessness as to whether life was endangered.

West Yorkshire Police Assistant Ch Con Damien Miller said facial recognition technology was used to identify Dobre.

He said the force was using "every technological tool available to us to identify those responsible".

“There is no hiding place from the law for those who become involved in disorder in West Yorkshire," he added.

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