Eight teenagers who admitted taking part in the LEEDS FESTIVAL riots last August have been sentenced to community service orders ranging from 130 hours to 240 hours, and ordered to pay compensation of between £200 and £500 each.
Appearing at Leeds Magistrate Court today (February 19), the eight – including the son of Clwyd South MP Martyn Jones – admitted taking part in the disturbances at the end of the festival, which resulted in injury to 40 people and an estimated £250,000 damage, with toilet blocks being burned down and police pelted with stones and missiles.
The accused were apprehended after police released CCTV video images taken from the scene of the riots.
The cases dealt with were: Kevin Brown, 18, from Selkirk; James Cockburn, 18 and Martin Bellamy, 19, both from Galashiels; Stuart Gunn, 18, and Craig Higgins, 18, of Strathaven, Lanarkshire; John Bower, 19, of Tadcaster, North Yorkshire; and Nicholas Jones, 18, of Acton, Wrexham, the son of MP Martyn Jones.
According to the BBC website, Neil Clark, prosecuting, said one witness with 12 years experience in the army told investigators the trouble was worse than anything he had seen as a soldier. He said others described the events as “absolutely terrifying”.