Five men jailed for a total of 36 years for starting prison riot

Credit: West Midlands Police

Five prison inmates who sparked a riot inside HMP Birmingham last year that caused damage estimated at £3 million have been jailed for a total of 36 years

John Burton, Luke Mansell, Ross Wilkinson, Robert Smith and Nathan Weston acted as ringleaders during the disturbance on 16 December last year, instigating the trouble and urging others to join the rampage, Birmingham Crown Court heard.

Hundreds of prisoners escaped during the disorder – after Smith snatched cell keys from a guard – which lasted 12 hours before specialist Prison Service ‘Tornadoes’ and West Midlands Police public order trained officers stormed the prison to regain control.

They left behind a trail of destruction: staff offices were gutted in fires started by the rioters, computer equipment destroyed, windows and lights smashed, and paint thrown across walls and floors. It was the worst prison disorder since the Strangeways riot in 1990.

Hundreds of offenders were transferred from HMP Birmingham following the riot Credit: PA images

At one stage the mob used gym equipment as a battering ram to force open a main door and allows inmates to escape into an exercise yard.

Wilkinson (24), Robert Smith (34) and 23-year-old Nathan Weston admitted prison mutiny while Burton (39) and 24-year-old Mansell were found guilty last week.

At Birmingham Crown Court today, Mansell and Burton were both jailed for nine years, with Wilkinson, Smith and Weston all handed six-year terms.

The sentences will run after any prison terms the five were already serving.