'Violent racist' who kicked black man in riot jailed

Disorder broke out in Piccadilly Gardens on 3 August

A "violent racist" who punched and kicked a black man in the face during a riot in Manchester has been jailed for three years and two months.

Joseph Ley, 30, was heard on footage saying, "You got a problem with us English, bro?", as the victim was confronted by a group of white men in Piccadilly Gardens in the city on 3 August.

Prosecutor Philip Hall said the attack was "motivated by racial hatred" and Ley was the "first to instigate physical violence".

Ley, who was jailed for violent disorder, was also given a two-month concurrent sentence for possession of an offensive weapon - after an extendable baton was found at his home.

'Bigoted'

In the footage shown at Manchester Crown Court, members of the crowd can also be heard swearing and shouting "kill him" and "stamp on his face".

In his sentencing remarks, Judge John Potter told Ley, of Hardman Street, Stockport: "Your actions in Piccadilly Gardens amounted to nothing more or less than mindless violence inspired by your bigoted and racist views.

"You took a leading role in the attack - being the first person who instigated any violence.

"You are a violent racist offender who has access to weapons capable of causing very serious harm."

Defending, Emily Calman said Ley had "thought he was attending an event to celebrate British culture".

Greater Manchester Police said 102 suspects had been identified and 73 of those had been charged so far.

The court heard Paul Smith was smiling during the disorder outside a hotel housing asylum seekers

Earlier, the court heard a 21-year-old man appeared to "take delight" in throwing bricks at police outside a hotel which houses asylum seekers and he was jailed for two years and 10 months.

Paul Smith, of Keynsham Road, Manchester, was sentenced after pleading guilty to violent disorder during the riot outside the Holiday Inn in Newton Heath on 31 July.

Prosecutor Philip Hall said Smith was "smiling and appears to be taking some delight from the event" in footage.

Defending, Laura Broome said Smith had taken "full responsibility for his part in what he accepts was an appalling incident" but he had not taken a "leading" role in the disorder.

Judge John Potter told Smith: "Your attempt to disguise your identity by wearing a t-shirt on your head was unsuccessful."

A police officer at the scene said the protest was "initially good-natured" but the "mood changed" when several hotel residents arrived, when glass bottles, eggs and water were thrown towards them and police.

'Don't feel safe'

A hotel resident who was taken to hospital with cuts after the disorder which he said had had a "devastating effect".

In a statement read out to court, they added: "I came to this country to feel safe, but since this incident I do not feel safe any more."

A bus driver who was also punched during an attack on his vehicle during the riot said in a statement which was read in court: "I don't go to work to be attacked.

"These men have left me feeling visibly shaken and frightened to go back to work."

A housing officer at the Holiday Inn hotel added that they had "started taking different routes into work" since the disorder and that colleagues were "afraid to come into work".

Meanwhile, Oliver Chapman, who admitted conducting a "spinning kick" against a supermarket window in Manchester city centre on 3 August, was also jailed for 20 months.

The 23-year-old of Duke Street, Radcliffe, was sentenced for violent disorder.