Haulage boss jailed for violent disorder during Rotherham riot

A haulage boss has been jailed for violent disorder during a riot outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham.

Ricky Hardman, of Hardman Haulage, was pictured brandishing a piece of wood during the disorder on Sunday, August 4.

He was also caught on camera as part of a group attacking a police dog van outside the Holiday Inn Express, which officers were trying to protect.

Windows were smashed at the hotel, which was believed to have been housing up to 200 asylum seekers.

More than 60 police officers were injured when items, including bricks and bottles, were thrown towards them.

Hardman (pictured below), of Norfolk Road, Barnsley, appeared before Sheffield Magistrates' Court on Friday (August 9), where he pleaded guilty to violent disorder.

Appearing at Sheffield Crown Court on Monday (August 12), the 41-year-old was jailed for two years and eight months, according to the BBC.   

Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC, told the defendant: “The incident was part of wider national civic unrest fostered by some form of malignancy in society spread by malevolent users of social media.

“There’s no question the disorder was racist in character and extremely frightening for anyone who was there.”

Riots flared up across the country after the fatal stabbing of three girls at a dance class in Southport on July 29.

In what was worst unrest the UK has seen in more than a decade, the violence, in towns and cities across England and in Northern Ireland, was fuelled by far-right misinformation online.

Hundreds of people involved in the riots have been arrested and dozens have been sentenced.