Rotherham asylum hotel arsonist given joint longest riots sentence

Levi Fishlock was caught on bodycam throwing missiles at police and fuelling a fire

A rioter who helped fuel a fire outside a hotel housing asylum seekers has been given the joint-highest sentence passed down so far following the nationwide disorder over the summer.

Levi Fishlock was a prominent figure in the rioting outside the Holiday Inn Express at Manvers, Rotherham, with a judge saying he "played a part in almost every aspect of the racist mob violence on that terrible day in August".

Fishlock, of Sheffield Road, Barnsley, pleaded guilty at Sheffield Crown Court to violent disorder and arson with intent to endanger life.

Recorder of Sheffield Judge Jeremy Richardson KC said the case was one of the most serious he had dealt with as he jailed Fishlock for nine years, with an extended five-year period on licence.

It is the joint-highest sentence given for the summer’s riots, with Thomas Birley, 27, of Swinton in South Yorkshire, also jailed for nine years in September.

The court heard the 31-year-old was “very identifiable” by his distinctive purple England football shirt with “Bellingham” written on the back.

He was part of a group shouting abuse and racial slurs, at one point tapping the England badge on his shirt.

Judge Richardson said the defendant was “involved in almost every arena of racist criminal conduct that day”.

As the violence escalated Fishlock was seen adding planks of wood to a large burning wheelie bin that was pushed up against the hotel, “intending to endanger the lives of many people trapped in the hotel”, the judge said.

Fishlock also helped build barricades that were then set on fire and made threatening gestures with a sharp object towards people who were inside the hotel looking out through the windows.

He was also seen smashing the hotel windows by throwing bricks and paving slabs at them, destroying fencing around the hotel and smashing up an air conditioning unit.

The court heard later in the day he was part of a group who attacked incoming police vehicles with rocks.

At one point he threw a missile towards a police officer’s legs, aiming for the area that was not protected by a riot shield, it was said.

After he was arrested in the days following the riot, Fishlock told officers driving him to the station that he knew why he had been arrested and that it was “for a good cause”.

In mitigation, the court heard Fishlock, who has a young daughter, had protracted difficulties with anxiety and depression, and a “problematic relationship” with drugs.

The defendant became the second person to be sentenced for arson with intent to endanger life following the 12 hours of violence in Manvers on 4 August which left 64 police officers, three horses and a dog injured.

In September painter and decorator Thomas Birley, 27, was jailed for nine years after pleading guilty to arson with intent to endanger life, violent disorder and possession of an offensive weapon for his actions that day.

More than 70 men have so far been jailed for their roles in the disorder outside the hotel.

Sheffield Crown Court has heard how more than 200 asylum seekers were trapped in the upper floors as rioters smashed windows and set light to the bin, which was pushed against a fire door.

Hotel staff have told the court how they barricaded themselves into a panic room during the rioting, fearing they would die as they smelt the smoke.

Judge Richardson said: “It has been my misfortune, as well as my duty, to have sentenced most of the cases arising from the public disorder in Rotherham.

“This is unquestionably one of the worst of the many cases which have come before this court concerning the events in Rotherham.

“You were involved in almost every arena of racist criminal conduct that day.

“Your conduct, and the conduct of that mob, has cast a dark and ugly stain across the reputation of Rotherham and South Yorkshire.”

He went on to say: “You did not start the fire but you added to it and helped fuel the flames. That is as serious as starting it.”

Chris Hartley, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “The tough sentence imposed today should serve as a lesson for anyone considering taking part in this type of disorder in future.

“Fishlock played a prominent part in these shameful acts of senseless violence, which terrified the residents and staff of the hotel and caused significant amounts of physical damage.

“Highly experienced police officers described the disorder as the worst they had ever seen in their careers. The violence had left them in fear for their lives."

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