12 December 2024 , 12:12
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A man who tried to set fire to a hotel housing asylum seekers has been jailed for nine years, the joint-longest prison sentence in connection with the UK’s summer of riots.
Levi Fishlock smashed windows and stoked a flaming bin at the Holiday Inn Express in Manvers, Rotherham, during a spate of disorder on 4 August.
Fishlock, 31, of Sheffield Road, Barnsley, initially denied violent disorder and arson with intent to endanger life but later pleaded guilty to the charges.
Jailing him, the Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC, said: "This is one of the worst cases of its kind stemming from the Rotherham disorder."
Fishlock’s sentence, which also includes a five-year licence period after he is released from jail, is the same as that of Thomas Birley, who was also part of the mob, some of whom attempted to torch the hotel in South Yorkshire.
During the two-day hearing at Sheffield Crown Court, the court was told Fishlock had been wearing "a very identifiable" purple t-shirt as he smashed the hotel’s windows by throwing bricks and broken paving slabs.
Fishlock told arresting officers that throwing missiles and stoking the fire was for a "good cause" despite about 200 asylum seekers plus hotel staff being trapped in the besieged building.
Fishlock, in a purple England shirt, smashed the hotel’s windows by throwing bricks and paving slabs
He also used fencing slats and metal poles "as weapons against officers" and was seen "smashing up" an air conditioning unit outside the hotel.
He was also seen in possession of a "sharp-edged object" while making threatening gestures towards those in the hotel, the court heard.
Alisha Kaye, prosecuting, said: "In his pre-sentencing report he stated he just came upon the incident and had no intention to go there deliberately.
"It’s remarkable coincidence that he was wearing an England shirt. He is deliberately tapping his England badge [on footage]."