Dad chanted Islamophobic slurs and punched man at protest

Paul Dixon, 35, was identified by police from a YouTube video

A dad who punched an Asian man and chanted Islamophobic slurs during a protest in Nottingham has been jailed.

Paul Dixon, 35, had been drinking with friends on 3 August, when thousands gathered in the city centre for a pre-planned protest, a court heard.

The railway safety supervisor, of Broadwood Road in Bestwood, Nottinghamshire, pleaded guilty at Nottingham Magistrates' Court to the charge of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour.

Dixon, who was identified by police from a YouTube video, was arrested on Wednesday at his girlfriend's home where officers found him in possession of cannabis, which he also pleaded guilty to.

After watching the footage in court, district judge Sunil Khanna concluded Dixon had thrown "the first punch" and sentenced him to four months in prison.

"You were very, very lucky this was not affray," he told Dixon, adding his sentencing powers were "limited".

Mr Khanna said: "I also have to bear in mind that thankfully it did not get any worse but there was a chance it could have."

Officers detained a number of people during the protests

Earlier on Thursday, another defendant charged with offences during the Nottingham protests appeared in court.

Kevin Musgrave, 37, admitted grabbing a police officer's arm as his girlfriend was detained when hundreds of people gathered near the Brian Clough Statue in King Street.

The court heard that Musgrave, of Derbyshire, was not involved in the protest itself, but was arrested for assault and criminal damage after he spat in a police vehicle.

The self-employed roofer was given a six-month prison sentence suspended for 12 months.

Mr Khanna told Musgrave: "I must say, Mr Musgrave, it was touch and go.

"Had you been part of the main group, I would have sent you straight to prison."

Musgrave, of High Lane East in Ilkeston, was arrested after his partner Victoria Gray pushed a police officer and spat on another during the Nottingham protest - one of a number to take place across the UK on August 3.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had said Gray was detained after pushing an officer policing the protest in Long Row.

The 42-year-old, also of High Lane East, shouted a series of offensive racist and homophobic comments and went on to spit on one of the officers arresting her, the CPS added.

She pleaded guilty to a series of charges, including assaults and possession of a weapon, after she took a can of pepper spray to the scene.

At a court hearing on August 7, she was handed a six-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months.

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