Rioter who asked if drivers were ‘white’ jailed

Jake Wray was serving a 24-week suspended sentence at the time

A man who stopped drivers to check if they were "white" during a riot has been jailed for violent disorder.

Jake Wray, 23, admitted to the offence relating to events in Middlesbrough on 4 August, where he tried to set a car on fire, made racist chants and pushed a flaming wheelie bin into police lines.

He was serving a 24-week suspended sentence for spitting at a police officer and carrying a knife at the time, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Sentencing him to three years and two months, Judge Richard Bennett told Wray his behaviour "was disgraceful and in no way reflects the values of the decent people of Middlesbrough".

The judge said the 23-year-old's offending was violent and "overtly racist".

Wray, wearing a red top and an England flag around his shoulders, stopped cars at a junction in the town centre and was caught on mobile phone footage asking drivers about the colour of their skin.

In the clip, which was played in court, Wray, who was stood blocking traffic, could be heard asking: "Are you white, are you English?"

Further clips showed him setting fire to a wheelie bin, which was pushed towards police lines, and helicopter video captured him interfering with a red car, which minutes later burst into flames.

Wray tried to set a car on fire and pushed flaming wheelie bins towards police

Wray told police he was merely stopping cars to warn drivers, but he no longer stood by that account.

Judge Bennett said: "You were clearly enjoying the attention and power of being masked during a frightening event for those drivers."

Harry Crowson, defending, said Wray initially denied the racial motive for stopping the cars "out of embarrassment and shame".

Mr Crowson said Wray, of Seaton Street in the town, had repeatedly watched the clips in court over several hearings, adding: "In the cold light of day, he doesn't even believe the things that came out of his mouth that day.

"He is quite appalled by it."

Wray's partner and her mother have also been jailed for violent disorder.

Clarification 20 November 2024: This article’s original headline said that Jake Wray had been jailed for asking drivers if they were ‘white.’ We have amended the headline and introduction to make clear that he was specifically jailed for the offence of violent disorder, during which he also blocked traffic and questioned drivers.