Children as young as 12 due in court over widespread UK riots

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Children As Young As 12 Due In Court Over Widespread Uk Riots
Firefighters tend to a burning police car in Hartlepool during the disorder, © PA Wire/PA Images
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By Josh Payne, PA Chief Reporter

Children as young as 12 are due to appear in UK courts as suspects continue to be charged over widespread public disorder across Britain.

Those in court on Monday include the wife of a Conservative councillor who is accused of encouraging people on social media to attack hotels housing asylum seekers.

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Lucy Connolly, the wife of West Northamptonshire councillor Raymond Connolly, is alleged to have posted on X on the day three girls were stabbed to death in Southport, saying: “Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f****** hotels full of the bastards for all I care… If that makes me racist, so be it.”

The 41-year-old, of Parkfield Avenue, Northampton, is yet to enter a plea to the charge and will appear at the town’s crown court.

Britain's Crown Prosecution Service said two 12-year-olds have been charged with violent disorder, with one due to appear at Liverpool Youth Court and the other at Manchester City Magistrates’ Court.

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Police mugshot of Niall Charnock
Niall Charnock pleaded guilty to violent disorder (Greater Manchester Police/PA)

The pair are believed to become the youngest to appear in court in connection with the disorder.

Also in Manchester, a man has admitted throwing a missile at police during “shameful disorder” in Bolton town centre on August 4th.

Niall Charnock, 31, was caught on social media footage breaking through a police barricade and throwing something at officers.

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A 41-year-old man has been jailed for two years and eight months at Sheffield Crown Court for his part in the rioting outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham.

Ricky Hardman, who runs a haulage business, was arrested after a picture of him brandishing a piece of wood during the disorder on Sunday August 4th was published in a national newspaper, a judge was told.

At Teesside Crown Court, a teenager seen “celebrating” after throwing a rock which hit a police officer during riots in Darlington was detained for 18 months.

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Southport disorder court case
Cole Stewart, of Darlington, pleaded guilty at Teesside Magistrates’ Court to a charge of violent disorder (Durham Police/PA)

Cole Stewart, 18, was one of about 30 people who gathered outside a mosque in the town on August 5th.

Stewart was seen breaking a large boulder into smaller rocks and throwing them towards police, and was later spotted “celebrating with his arms in the air” when one struck an officer in the arm.

So far, 927 people have been arrested and 466 charged in relation to the recent disorder, a spokesman for the UK's National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said on Monday.

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According to the UK's Crown Prosecution Service, as of Monday, 273 people have been charged in relation to the disorder.

The figure released by the NPCC is higher to reflect charges which are solely done by police and do not involve the CPS.

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