Care worker who streamed riot aftermath jailed

A care worker who livestreamed a group of masked and hooded men making racist comments on TikTok after a riot in Staffordshire has been jailed for nine months.

Cameron Bell, 23, was caught on CCTV wearing her work uniform as about 20 people, many armed with planks of wood and what appeared to be lengths of metal, walked through Tamworth on the night of 4 August.

Stafford Crown Court heard Bell was not present during violence earlier the same day at the town's Holiday Inn Express, which was set alight in the disorder.

Judge John Edwards said Bell’s comments on the livestream were abhorrent and had the "potential to fan the flames".

Rejecting calls for a suspended sentence, he said: “Anyone involved in violent disorder must command immediate custody, with the need for deterrence being acute.”

He was shown TikTok videos, filmed by Bell, of Worthing Grove, Tamworth, after she left work and saw the armed group as she walked home.

She was heard swearing while referring to asylum seekers as "tramps".

Bell admitted violent disorder in September and has been in custody since being arrested.

She appeared to be on the verge of tears in the dock as her lawyer, Stephen Rudge, told the court she was "on the periphery" of a group which had not confronted anyone.

Mr Rudge said: "Her involvement is to upload the TikTok footage that was not encouraging anyone to join in or extend the violence that had been seen earlier on."

Much of the TikTok stream had been rather amateurish, Mr Rudge argued, giving a view of the cobblestones in Tamworth but showing no acts of violence.

Passing sentence, the judge told Bell members of the group - which was caught on CCTV near to a statue of Sir Robert Peel - were armed and clearly intent on further violence.

There were disturbances across this country after the fatal stabbing of three young girls at a dance class in Southport in late July.

“The violence was fuelled by misinformation and misplaced far-right sentiment,” the judge said.

“It spread to various towns and cities across the nation including, as we know, Tamworth.

"A hotel in Tamworth housing asylum seekers was targeted, with significant damage being caused and injuries sustained."

He said Bell was among a group believed to have been heading towards a different hotel in the town.

Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.