Haulage boss Ricky Hardman of Hardman Haulage has been sentenced to two years and eight months in prison after being convicted of violent disorder during the recent rioting outside a hotel housing asylum seekers near Rotherham.
Sheffield Crown Court heard that Hardman was arrested after a national newspaper carried a picture of him brandishing a large plank of wood during the disorder in Manvers on Sunday 4 August.
Hardman, of Norfolk Road, Barnsley, told Sheffield Police he had “got caught up in the day” and had ”probably gone too far”.
Police said he failed to show any remorse for his actions, saying he “came worse off than any officer”, after receiving minor injuries from having his hand hit with a baton.
A video was played in court which showed Hardman was part of a group attacking a police dog van during the violence outside the Holiday Inn Express.
In the video Hardman was seen kicking out at the police van, which was being prevented from moving by people lying in the road in front of it. He was also seen in a group of around six men who violently rocked the vehicle before it managed to drive away.
The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC, told Hardman the “major civil disorder” was “perpetrated by an ignorant mob of which you were a part”.
More than 50 police officers were injured in the violence outside the hotel.
The judge added: “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.”
Hardman sat in the dock accompanied by one security guard as he was sentenced, with his family watching from the public gallery. As well as the jail sentence, he was given a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) for ten years and ordered to pay £228 in fees.
The CBO prohibits Hardman from congregating in any public place with more than two people in a manner that will cause distress, alarm or fear.
Ben Wood, detective chief inspector and senior investigating officer of the disorder, said: “The pride we have in our officers for how they conducted themselves on that dark day last weekend is immense.
“While mobs of thugs attempted to provoke a reaction from our officers, they resisted provocation and handled an immensely challenging situation. It was something that no officer should ever have to endure.
“People such as Hardman who thought that they would get away with their actions are very much mistaken, and we are continuing to arrest those involved every day.
“I am pleased to see that Hardman will now serve a custodial sentence.”
Richard Davies, defending, told the judge his client is “ashamed of himself and the impact that it’s going to have on his family”.
He said Hardman did not go to the hotel to get involved with violence but got “carried away”. Mr Davies said his client agrees that he has “only got himself to blame”.
The riots were triggered by false information disseminated on social media concerning the murder of three little girls at a dance class in Southport on 29 July, which was used by far-right groups to organise anti-migrant and anti-Islam protests, which escalated into riots across the UK.
South Yorkshire Police said it has teams of officers and staff working “at pace” to identify more of the rioters and are asking for communities to get in touch if they can identify anyone featured in its gallery of suspects here:
