Two fathers jailed over roles in hotel riot

Kurt Hooley was jailed at Sheffield Crown Court on Tuesday

A rioter who has been jailed after taking part in major public disorder outside a hotel housing asylum seekers will miss the birth of his third child, a court has heard.

Kurt Hooley was captured on police body-worn footage trying to take an officer’s riot shield during the incident at the Holiday Inn Express in Manvers, Rotherham, on 4 August.

Hooley, 34, of no fixed abode, was also part of a group who taunted police and threw missiles at officers protecting the hotel and its occupants, Sheffield Crown Court was told.

Hooley’s pregnant girlfriend, who observed the hearing from the public gallery, appeared visibly upset as he was sentenced to two years and eight months imprisonment on Tuesday.

Hooley, who had three previous convictions, including two Section 4 public order offences, had pleaded guilty to violent disorder at an earlier hearing.

Neil Coxon, prosecuting, said Hooley was eventually identified through the footage circulated thanks to his distinctive clothing and tattoos.

When arrested and questioned by police, he claimed he was just a bystander and also denied being present at the scene at all, Mr Coxon said.

The court heard that despite Hooley believing he had done nothing wrong, he was “fearful of ramifications” and burned the clothing he wore that day.

Victim impact statements read out in court detailed how distressing the incident had been for police officers and hotel staff.

One officer said it felt “like we were fighting for our lives”, while another stated she had witnessed “indescribable acts of violence” at the scene of the riot.

Meanwhile, a security guard employed at the hotel said despite the passage of time, he could still hear the sound of stones being thrown at windows and the fire alarm, which rang for hours that day.

Richard Harrison, 37, was jailed for two years and six months

Also sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court on Tuesday was father-of-three Richard Harrison.

The 37-year-old, of Ingsfield Lane, Rotherham, was filmed being verbally abusive towards police and pushing a police officer to the ground.

Mr Coxon described Harrison as "the catalyst for the violence that followed", stating that the officer had been left vulnerable to further attacks from rioters.

Judge Sarah Wright was told that when Harrison's daughter was shown the footage, she saw her “dad in a crowd he does not belong in” and she had read "about a man she does not recognise" in the news.

The court heard that at the time of the disorder, Harrison had been the subject of a community order in relation to a previous conviction.

Judge Wright sentenced him to two years and six months in jail for violent disorder.

She told him she had taken his mental health and addiction problems into account.

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