Merseyside man jailed for smashing police van leaving officer fearing for his life

  • A bodycam worn by the officer in the van captured Moran's attack

A dad has been jailed after battering a police van with a slab of concrete - leaving the officer inside frightened for his life.

Luke Moran, 38, attempted to pull the wing mirror off the van before "forcefully punching" the window and smashing it with masonry, trapping PC James Hayes inside.

The dad-of-three was one of hundreds involved in rioting in Southport after violence erupted following the deaths of three girls in a knife attack.

Rebecca Smith, prosecuting, told Liverpool Crown Court Moran was seen on footage with a large piece of concrete in his hands, smashing the driver’s side window of a police vehicle.

Jailing him, Judge Neil Flewitt KC told the court: “This is as bad a case as I have seen so far.”

He said serious disorder, in the form of vandalism, intimidation and violence, broke out in Merseyside and across the country following the fatal stabbing in Southport on July 29th.

On July 30th a “mob” formed in Southport, initially focused on the local mosque, and there were chants of “Allah, Allah, who the f*** is Allah” and “this is our f****** country”, the judge said.

The court was played bodyworn footage from PC Hayes in which Moran was holding a chunk of masonry, which he hit the vehicle with three times.

In the footage, the constable could be heard telling colleagues over his radio: “I’m going to have to bail, my window’s about to go through.”

Credit: CPS

In a statement, PC Hayes said he was left fearing for his safety.

He said: "My carrier became isolated and a focal point of the ongoing barrage.

"I seriously feared for my safety as I was faced by hundreds of men attempting to inflict serious harm onto the police.

"There was an obvious 'hardcore' element of the mob which stood at the front of the crowd who were intent on inflicting harm on officers."

Southport was gripped by violent disturbances following the deaths of three young girls Credit: ITV Granada Reports

Moran, from Birkdale, Merseyside, was one of a crowd of people throwing missiles, bins and other items at officers and police vehicles in Southport after violence erupted following a vigil for Elsie Dot Stancombe, six, Bebe King, seven, and Alice de Silva Aguia, nine.

The girls were killed when a knifeman entered their Taylor Swift-themed dance class and began attacking the group.

CCTV showed Moran in the crowd on Zetland Street before the attack, milling around and appearing to incite the disorder which was near to the mosque in Southport.

He then approached the stationary police van, where a police officer was at the wheel.

A bodycam worn by the officer in the van captured Moran's attack, and he was later arrested after being identified from the CCTV footage.

His response to questions during police interview was: “I was nowhere near Zetland Street, St Luke’s Street, mate.”

Jailing Moran for three years Judge Flewitt said: “Unsurprisingly... PC Hayes feared for his life, believing he might be pulled from the carrier and attacked.”

Police formed a barricade as rioters gathered outside a mosque in Southport. Credit: PA Images

The arrest was part of the police investigation into the violent disorder that occurred from 30 July 2024 onwards, in the aftermath of the tragic deaths of three young girls, murdered in Southport the previous day.

Moran appeared in the dock with three other defendants, who fist bumped and said “good luck” to each other before the sentencing began.

Family members of all four defendants were in tears as the sentences were delivered.

Luke Moran at first told police officers that he wasn't even in the area of the disturbances Credit: Merseyside Police

Moran’s friend Nicholas Sinclair, 38, a manager at a scaffolding firm, appeared alongside him in the dock on Wednesday and was jailed for two years and four months.

The court heard Sinclair, of Bury Road, Birkdale, was seen in footage from the disorder shouting towards police and throwing bricks.

Simon Christie, defending both men, said they had been “swept up in an incident they neither understood or took the time to consider”.

Judge Flewitt said: “Everybody so far has said they were swept up in the violence, nobody seems to be taking responsibility.”

He added: “It was neither thoughtless nor mindless, it was deliberate.”

Both men had pleaded guilty to violent disorder at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court last week.

Sentenced alongside them were Daniel Carrigan, 41, of Preston Grove in Liverpool, who was jailed for two years and eight months for violent disorder and criminal damage and Thomas Whitehead, 53, of Pool Street Southport, who was sentenced to one year and eight months for violent disorder.

District Crown Prosecutor Sarah Gray, of CPS Mersey Cheshire, said: “The footage of Moran battering at the police van door is truly shocking, it made it impossible for the officer to either drive away or get out - the level of violence and aggression used absolutely appalling.

"In the midst of the serious violent disorder Moran persists in battering the door and seems absolutely determined to try to get at the officer.

"He was part of a crowd of people who were attacking police officers who were simply trying to maintain the peace. The idea that Moran was motivated to behave in such a dreadful way in response to the murder of three children is extremely distressing and quite disgusting.

"Whatever he thought his motivation was, he behaved dreadfully on that day and is now facing the consequences."