Man who threw fireworks onto riot blaze jailed

A father-of-four who threw a bag of fireworks onto a fire during rioting in Leeds last summer has been jailed for 20 months.

Window cleaner Alfie Robinson, 25, got involved in the disorder after noticing smoke from the street while having a barbecue with his partner on 18 July.

He was seen throwing wooden pallets and cardboard onto a fire that had been started in Harehills Road, as well as a carrier bag full of fireworks, which exploded and caused sparks to fly into the crowd.

At Leeds Crown Court on Friday, Robinson, of Cowper Street in Chapeltown, was jailed after pleading guilty to violent disorder and arson.

Major unrest broke out in Harehills after four children from a Roma family were taken into care, with the disorder resulting in a double-decker bus being set alight and a police car overturned.

The court heard as violence engulfed the streets, a van was stopped by the crowd and the contents were taken out and set on fire.

Robinson, who was bare-chested during most of the CCTV footage, could be seen at about 21:00 BST, throwing two wooden pallets towards onto the blaze with the help of another man.

He also added a large cardboard box and later a bag that contained fireworks.

The court heard when Robinson was interviewed by police, he initially denied throwing the bag but cried when he was shown the footage and told officers he had been "doing some dumb [stuff]".

A judge was told the single night of disorder cost the police £276,000, the fire service £23,000 and the council £12,000.

In mitigation, the court heard Robinson "has gainful employment" and supported his partner and their four children, who are all under the age of five.

Jailing Robinson, Judge Guy Kearl, the Recorder of Leeds, told him: "This incident brought shame upon the area of Harehills, where many law-abiding citizens live.

"People were in their houses, frightened by the disorder. The damage was extensive."

Robinson was the second man to be sentenced this week for his role in the disorder.

West Yorkshire Police said George Dumitrescu, 26, of Sandhurst Terrace, who admitted violent disorder at a previous hearing, was sentenced on Thursday to two years and four months in jail.

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