Woman pleads guilty to Southport riot offences

The killings of three children on 29 July in Southport triggered waves of unrest across the country

A young woman at the forefront of a riot in Southport which followed the killings of three girls in the town has pleaded guilty to three offences.

Ellie Clarke was charged with violent disorder following the incident on 30 July, which took place in the wake of the attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.

The 21-year-old, who also admitted with assaulting an emergency worker and racially aggravated harassment, repeatedly wept in the dock at Liverpool Magistrates' Court.

The defendant pleaded guilty to the offences on Wednesday and was remanded in custody to appear at the city's crown court on Tuesday.

'Racial hate element'

Andrew Page, prosecuting, told the court that a large group had gathered in Sussex Road near a mosque in the evening and there was a confrontation with police officers in riot gear.

"Miss Clarke can clearly be seen on CCTV at the front of a group who are confronting the police. She was pacing up and down for a long time. At one point she walked up to the line of police officers."

Mr Page told the court she then shouted at police a series of racial slurs.

She was seen to strike an officer's riot shield, the court heard.

Opposing bail Mr Page said the racial hate element was an aggravating factor.

Terry Naylor, defending, applied for bail and said Clarke, of Chestnut Street, Southport, had no previous convictions and had handed herself in to police after a photograph of her was circulated in the media.

"She accepts she may be facing a sentence of immediate custody of some length."

District Judge Paul Healey refused bail and sent the case to crown court.