Boy, 17, sentenced for role in hotel riot

Fires were set in the grounds of the Holiday Inn Express hotel in Manvers

A boy who waved around a large piece of fencing "in a threatening manner" during rioting in Rotherham has been sentenced.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named because of his age, held a piece of feather board aloft and ignored police instructions to put it down. He was then bitten by a police dog.

At Sheffield Youth Court, the judge said his actions came during "shameful public disorder [and] you were part of that mob".

The boy pleaded guilty to violent disorder and was sentenced to a 24-month youth rehabilitation order.

During the incident on 4 August, the youth was filmed outside the Holiday Inn Express in Manvers, waving around the wood, District Judge Tim Spruce said.

Police repeatedly asked him to put the wood down, before a line of riot officers parted and police dog Luna assisted them in the arrest, the court was told.

The boy was taken to hospital for treatment to dog bites.

Police dog Luna assisted in the arrest of the boy

The defendant was "part of the swarm of violent offenders", the court heard.

The teenager's conduct "placed him at the forefront of the violence", but District Judge Spruce felt naming the boy would have "significant consequences" for his family.

His parents said a curfew had done him "a world of good" as he was not mixing with bad influences.

Speaking directly to the boy, the judge said: "You let your parents down, and you let your community down."

The boy was sentenced to a 24-month youth rehabilitation order, with a curfew of six months.

Some of that curfew would be electronically monitored.

His parents were told to pay £111 in costs, which the judge said could be recouped from the boy through "extra chores or tasks around the house".

Ex-soldier's behaviour 'disappointing'

Lee Marshall, of Princess Street in Barnsley, pleaded guilty to violent disorder and assault of an emergency worker

Meanwhile at Sheffield Crown Court, Lee Marshall was jailed for two years and two months for his role in the violent disorder.

The court was told how the 39-year-old from Barnsley pushed back against riot officers' shields to retrieve his mobile phone, which he had dropped outside the hotel.

PC Georgia Evans was knocked to the ground, with her feeling "worried and concerned" about her safety, the officer said in a statement.

The father broke his foot in the melee with officers, who had brought "down a riot shield" onto him, his defence barrister said.

Marshall, a bus driver, pleaded guilty to violent disorder and a charge of assaulting an emergency worker.

Referencing his time as a former soldier from 2001 to 2005, the judge said: "It is incredibly disappointing to see you involved in this violent disorder."

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