Man arrested for shouting at police dog and racist insults

A father of three who shouted at a police dog and used racist slurs has been sentenced to 20 months in prison for violent disorder.

Bradley McCarthy was sentenced on Tuesday after he was caught on video “threatening” left-wing protesters at an anti-immigration rally in Bristol.

Separately, other people were detained for their role in the unrest at a hotel housing asylum seekers. The hotel was set on fire and police were pelted with bricks and bottles.

According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), 494 people have so far been charged in connection with the weeks of unrest in England and Northern Ireland that broke out after a fatal knife attack in Southport in which three young girls died.

McCarthy, 34, took part in an anti-immigration march in Bristol that led to clashes with counter-protesters and police in Castle Park and on Bristol Bridge on August 3.

Bristol Crown Court heard he played a “prominent” role in attempting to provoke police and shouted “aggressively” at a police dog.

“They did all this in an atmosphere of disruption where it only takes the actions of one individual to trigger very serious group violence,” said Judge Julian Lambert.

McCarthy admitted to violent disorder at an earlier hearing. He has been convicted of violence, weapons offences and public order offences.

Others were jailed for their actions during a riot that broke out outside a Rotherham hotel housing asylum seekers on August 4.

Alfie Conway, a 19-year-old bricklayer's apprentice from Pontefract, was sentenced to two years and three months in prison at Sheffield Crown Court.

He pleaded guilty to causing a violent disorder after throwing projectiles at police officers guarding the Holiday Inn Express in Manvers.

Lee Crisp, 42, was sentenced to prison for “actively inciting” the people who gathered outside the hotel.

The factory worker told the officers to be “ashamed,” shouted “Let’s open our eyes,” and made racist remarks.

He was sentenced to three years and four months imprisonment and a ten-year penal order.

Crisp had previously claimed that he accidentally got caught up in the commotion when he invited his mother to Sunday dinner.

Craig Timbrell, 38, of Hartcliffe, appeared at Bristol Crown Court charged with violent disorder and his “prominent role” in the riots.

He pleaded guilty to causing a violent disorder after throwing concrete blocks, bricks and bottles at police near the hotel.

Defence barrister Emily Evans said Timbrell, from Hartcliffe, had planned to attend a social event in the town centre with friends, which required tickets, but he was unable to get in and “couldn't really explain” why he threw projectiles at police.

But Judge Lambert described the violence he displayed as “intense and shocking” and sentenced him to two years and six months in prison.

Liam Gray, 20, from Mexborough in Doncaster, was filmed aggressively engaging a line of police officers attempting to disperse the 400-strong crowd outside the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham.

He pleaded guilty to violent disturbance of public order and was sentenced to three years in a youth detention center and ten years' probation.

Defence lawyer Ed Moss said his client's family was shocked to learn of his involvement in the riots, adding: “Despite the fact that it looks that way to everyone else, [they say] there is not a single racist bone in his body.”

Meanwhile, 28-year-old roofer Alfie Arrowsmith was sentenced to 16 months in prison for his role in the riots in Whitehall, central London, on July 31.

He pleaded guilty to one count of violent disorder after he was filmed repeatedly confronting police and shouting “Come on” and “Let's do this”.

As of Tuesday, 494 people had been charged with offences related to the recent unrest, the CPS said.

While more and more people are being convicted, concerns about the Lack of available prison space.

Welsh Minister Jo Stevens spoke to the BBC about Operation Early Dawn, which involves holding people in police cells until prison space becomes available.

She said the measure would be applied “for a few days or months at most” because men's prisons in some places were 99 percent full.

When asked what the maximum length of time someone could be held in a police cell was, Stevens said: “Our assumption is that this should not be longer than one day after the charge is filed. That is the basis on which we work.”

On Tuesday, King Charles travelled to Southport to meet survivors of the knife attack in Southport.

He visited the town hall, where memorial plaques had been left in memory of six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar, who were murdered in the attack.

The children were attending a Taylor Swift-themed dance class when the alleged attacker entered the building and stabbed them.

Axel Rudakubana, who was 17 at the time, was charged with murder and attempted murder. No motive for the attack was given, but it is not considered terrorist-related, police said.