Police can't arrest criminals when prisons are full of rioters, says prison union boss Mark Fairhurst

So far, over 1,000 people have been arrested for their involvement in recent unrest in towns and cities across England and Northern Ireland.

480 people have been charged and at least 99 verdicts have been reached, with cases continuing to come before the courts.

About 90 adults were convicted. Eight of them received prison sentences of three years or more, while three quarters of them received more than a year in prison.

Longest term of office so far six years

Sentences range in severity from community sentences and lower-range fines to the longest sentence to date of six years' imprisonment imposed on 48-year-old David Wilkinson for his role in the Hull riots.

Wilkinson was a prominent member of the “hooting mob” that forced three frightened Romanian men from their car.

John Honey, who was part of the mob and also looted shops, including a Lush cosmetics store, was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison.

Hull Crown Court heard Honey ripped open the passenger door as the man inside tried to close it to protect himself, while Wilkinson was seen attacking the car's windscreen, causing £1,500 worth of damage.

The court was told that the men, fearing for their lives, eventually left the car with their hands raised and fled to a nearby hotel.

Sentences far from home

Fairhurst described the pressure on the prison system as “really, really big” and warned that offenders in the most devastated regions could face prison sentences far from their home countries.

“The bottlenecks are currently in the northeast and northwest. Anyone who commits a crime in those areas will probably be taken 100 to 200 miles from home to serve their sentence because there are simply not enough places there,” he said.

Operation Early Dawn has not yet been triggered. The public would be informed when it is, the Justice Department previously said. The Justice Department has been asked for comment.