Pregnant teen jailed over asylum hotel riot

A pregnant woman who threw missiles at police officers and set items alight during rioting outside a hotel housing asylum seekers has been jailed.

Elarna Garner-Abbey, 19, was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court to 18 months in prison earlier, just a week after finding out she was pregnant.

The court heard she attended the unrest at the Holiday Inn Express, in Manvers, Rotherham, on 4 August alongside ex-partner Philip Wood, 22, who was jailed for two years.

The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC said while he had reduced Garner-Abbey's sentence "as much as I reasonably can" she had been "right at the centre" of the disorder.

He said: "I am conscious [pregnant women] have particular difficulties whilst in custody. That factor has caused me to reflect with great care on your case."

The court heard Garner-Abbey, of Station Road, in Dunscroft, Doncaster, and Wood, of Milton Street, Bootle, Sefton, were among hundreds of rioters who hurled missiles at officers trying to protect those inside the building.

At one stage Garner-Abbey was filmed stoking a fire with a blue stick, setting it ablaze and then passing the stick to another person, prosecutor Joseph Bell said.

Meanwhile, Wood was seen leaving the scene and returning with plant pots from residents' gardens, which he passed to others to break and throw at officers.

He was also seen approaching a fire in the middle of Manvers Way, while topless and wearing a face covering, to set a phone charger on fire which he then swung above his head.

Marc Luxford, on behalf of Wood, said his client had a mental age of 12 or 13 and an IQ score of 51, putting him in the range considered to be a moderate learning disability.

He said suggestions Wood had groomed or coerced Garner-Abbey were misplaced saying he was "simply not able" to have due to his mental capacity.

Judge Richardson said while there was some evidence of Wood having a "controlling and malign" influence on Garner-Abbey CCTV showed her "acting of [her] own free will in a prominent way".

Garner-Abbey and Wood were also issued with a criminal behaviour order for a period of 10 years.

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