Rioter told he has ‘utterly wrecked his life’ as he is jailed for three years

A bus driver who was at the forefront of the mob violence outside a hotel housing asylum seekers has “utterly wrecked his life” after turning it around, a judge said as he jailed him for three years.

John Webster, 41, was a “prominent participant” in the confrontations between rioters and police outside the Holiday Inn Express, in Manvers, Rotherham, on August 4, Sheffield Crown Court heard on Thursday.

Footage was shown in court of Webster involved in two different incidents, including one in which he could be seen kicking out at the police lines.

Judge Jeremy Richardson KC heard how the defendant screamed at officers and filmed as he refused their instructions to move, along with scores of other men who were attacking officers.

The judge was told that Webster had a lengthy criminal record of 45 different offences, which included affray, criminal damage, battery and harassment, but he had “turned his life around” after serving a four-year prison sentence for making threats to kill.

Judge Richardson praised the defendant for getting a bus driving licence and securing a job, saying he had received a glowing reference from his current employer.

He said it was therefore a “tragedy” that Webster had “utterly wrecked his life” by taking part in the violence.

The judge said: “It really is a tragedy that someone who managed to turn their life around has participated in this and wrecked everything.

“You are the author or your own misfortune and it is very, very sad.”

Richard Adams, defending, told the court that his client had gone to the hotel with a friend simply because he was “being nosey” after media reports began to appear of the confrontation.

Mr Adams said Webster had expressed his “deep held shame”.

But Judge Richardson said: “For reasons beyond all understanding, instead of sitting at home and watching TV, or doing the shopping or whatever else people do on an afternoon, or go to the cricket or the football, he goes and participates in this?”

He recounted the details of the disorder outside the hotel which saw 64 police officers, three horses and a dog injured as the building was besieged by around 400 people.

More than 200 asylum seekers and staff were trapped in the hotel as some rioters broke into the building and attempts were made to set it alight.

Judge Richardson said: “There is no doubt whatsoever that the venom of racism and racially motivated violence suffused the events from first to last.”

Webster, of Hague Avenue, Rawmarsh, South Yorkshire, admitted violent disorder at a previous hearing.

The judge told the court that a recent Appeal Court judgment had re-emphasised that sentences for violent disorder should reflect the overall context of the widespread disorder and not just the individual actions of the defendant.

He said that Webster, who appeared by videolink to prison, was a “prominent participant” in a crowd “intent on mob rule”.

The judge said: “That will never be tolerated in this country”.

He added: “This had nothing whatsoever to do with legitimate public protest. It was a desire to participate in mob rule and commit serious criminal offences in the process.”

More than 60 people have now been jailed at Sheffield Crown Court for their roles in the Rotherham disorder.