Girl, 13, admits threatening violence as more youths appear in court over riots

A 13-year-old girl has become the latest youngster to be convicted for her part in the widespread riots after admitting threatening unlawful violence outside a hotel housing asylum seekers.

The youth pleaded guilty to violent disorder at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday after she was seen punching and kicking the entrance to Potters International Hotel in Aldershot on July 31 during a protest.

Her conviction comes as analysis by the PA news agency shows at least 50 youths under the age of 18 have been charged in connection with the nationwide disorder.

The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted threatening unlawful violence that would cause a person to fear for his or her personal safety while with three or more other people in the Hampshire town.

She sat with her parents throughout the short hearing and a court official said she was granted unconditional bail.

District Judge Tim Pattinson ordered a pre-sentence report to be made and adjourned for the youngster’s sentencing to take place on September 30 at the same court.

Elsewhere, a man who looted cosmetics chain Lush during riots in Hull has pleaded guilty to violent disorder, burglary and racially aggravated criminal damage.

John Honey, 25, admitted three charges of burglary at Lush, the O2 store and Shoezone in the city on August 3.

He also pleaded guilty to the racially aggravated criminal damage of a BMW and damaging nine other cars.

In Sheffield, a 19-year-old man who admitted throwing bricks and lighted arrows at police protecting a hotel housing asylum seekers was jailed for three years.

Father-of-one Drew Jarvis was filmed lighting an arrow with a lighter and throwing it at officers during the rioting outside the Holiday Inn Express in Manvers, Rotherham, on August 4, a judge heard.

Unemployed Jarvis, of no fixed address, but originally from Barnsley, admitted violent disorder last week.

At Plymouth Crown Court, four men were jailed for violent disorder following an anti-immigration protest – including one man who did not “hit anyone… throw anything… (or) spit at anybody”.

Judge Robert Linford told Gary Harkness, 51, he was the “least involved” in terms of “direct violence” to come before him before jailing him for 12 months.

Suspects across the country continue to be charged with stirring up racial hatred, with people due to appear in court in Leicester and Chester on Tuesday.

Alleged rioters also continue to be brought before the courts, with further hearings due to take place in cities such as Sheffield, Plymouth, Liverpool and Manchester.

Far-right rallies and violence broke out in parts of the UK following the killing of three young girls in Southport after false claims spread online that the suspect was an asylum seeker who had arrived in Britain by boat.

As of Monday, 975 arrests had been made and 546 charges had been brought in the wake of the disorder, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said.

The figures do not represent the number of people charged, but the Crown Prosecution Service said prosecutors had helped secure charges for 354 people.

By comparison, in the wake of the August 2011 riots police made 4,105 arrests, according to a Home Office report published a month after the disorder broke out.