Four jailed over riots appealing 'harsh' sentences

Four people jailed after this summer's riots are appealing against their sentences.

Ozzie Cush, Paul Williams, Dylan Willis and Aminadab Temesgen were jailed or detained in connection with disorder in London, Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Plymouth.

Judges were told at the Court of Appeal that each of the sentences received were "harsh" and "manifestly excessive".

Cush's barrister Alex Granville said suspended sentences could "act as a deterrent but can also act as rehabilitation".

He said there was "significant mitigation" for each person involved in the appeal, which had not been "properly considered".

He said judges were independent and that "even with the national events that are happening... and the strong public opinion... there is still due process to be followed".

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will be responding to the appeals later.

Williams, then 45, was jailed for two years and two months in August when he threw metal fencing and a can of beer at police, after goading officers during rioting in Sunderland on 2 August.

Willis, 18, from Hartlepool, was handed a 14-month sentence for smashing a restaurant window during disorder in Middlesbrough.

Cush, 20, from Reading, was jailed for 10 months after pleading guilty to assaulting an emergency worker during a protest in central London.

Temesgen, then 19, and from Plymouth, was also given a 14-month sentence after throwing bottles at police in August.

Violence broke out in towns and cities around England, fuelled by misinformation on social media following the Southport stabbings, in which three young girls died.

Additional reporting by PA Media