Grandma jailed for part in Hull riots outside asylum hotel

A grandmother has been jailed after taking part in a riot outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Hull.

Julieanne Kay helped stir up trouble during "12 hours of racist, hate-fuelled mob violence" in the city centre on 3 August, 2024.

The 47-year-old was part of a large group of people who were confronting police outside the Royal Hotel in Ferensway, where asylum seekers were living at the time.

Kay, of Lorraine Street in Hull, was walking around with a piece of wood in her hand and she pushed a large bin towards police.

She made a comment about "banana boats" and hurled racist insults.

Kay was present when fires were started at a garage and a "baying mob" surrounded a car that had three "terrified" men inside it, Hull Crown Court heard.

Judge Thackray said: "You were at the front of a large group behaving in a threatening way, waving and beckoning at the crowd. You tried to damage a litter bin that was screwed to the ground. You were kicking and pulling at it."

He said that Kay played a prominent role in the violence that had caused "immeasurable harm" and left a huge financial cost.

Kay was near her boyfriend, David Wilkinson, 48, who had nunchucks with him.

Wilkinson, also of Lorraine Street in Hull, was jailed for six years in August for violent disorder, attempted arson and causing racially aggravated criminal damage.

Rachel Scott, mitigating, said that Kay had split up with her boyfriend of 26 years for about four weeks at the time of the offence and "she was struggling to come to terms with the break-up".

She said Kay "mirrored" the behaviour of her boyfriend and she became "carried away in an entirely unpleasant way" during the trouble.

Miss Scott said: "She got carried away with all of this. She is incredibly embarrassed to find herself here today and is appalled by her behaviour."

She added that Kay had three children and three grandchildren and had already served three months of a prison sentence.

"A Class A drugs addiction has blighted most of her life. Her Class A drugs addiction started when she was injected with drugs by a partner. She has managed her mental health by turning to Class A drugs", Miss Scott said.

Kay had been clean of drugs for five or six years and her most recent previous conviction was from 2009.

Judge Thackray said: "I am not satisfied that your risk can be managed in the community or that you can be rehabilitated in the community. Ultimately, only appropriate punishment can be achieved by way of an immediate custodial sentence."

Kay pleaded guilty to violent disorder and was jailed for two years.

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