Man jailed for pulling officer to floor during rioting in Rotherham

A 60-year-old man has been jailed for two years and eight months after he pulled a police officer to the ground by his shield, during rioting outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham.

Footage of Glyn Guest repeatedly approaching a line of outnumbered police, who were protecting the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, was shown at Sheffield Crown Court on Wednesday.

The body-worn camera footage shot from behind a female police officer’s riot shield showed Guest being pushed back five times before he grabs the shield of another officer, who is then pulled to the ground to the cheers of the crowd.

The officer said “it was a horrific incident of mindless thuggery” and that she had encountered “nothing like it before” in her five and a half years of service.

Chris Aspinall, defending, told the court his client “simply has no explanation for his behaviour”.

Mr Aspinall said: “He was out walking his dog. He lives about two miles from where this happened.

“He had no issues prior to the incident with the residents of the hotel. He’s been trouble-free for at least 13 years.”

The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC, said the conduct of the “mob” was “vile towards the police officers”.

He told Guest: “You were part of a violent mob and you were playing your part to the full.”

The judge said: “It must be made clear that those participating in this form of violent disorder will be punished severely by the courts.

“It is the duty of the court to do what it can to protect the public.”

He said: “The maximum sentence for violent disorder is five years.

“It is a matter for Parliament to decide whether that is in need of revision, in the light of these recent events. I must pass sentence based upon the law as it is.”

Guest, of Pearson Crescent, Wombwell, South Yorkshire, admitted violent disorder last week.

Another man arrested following the violence at the hotel was jailed for three years by Judge Richardson on Wednesday.

Father-of-three Trevor Lloyd, 49, was part of the mob that stormed the hotel, the court heard.

Judge Richardson was shown TikTok footage of the crowd breaking in, bringing out items including furniture and fire extinguishers and then throwing them at a line of police with riot shields who were forced to retreat by the barrage.

The judge – who has now sentenced a number of people in connection with the Rotherham rioting – said this was the “worst footage I have seen”.

Judge Richardson told Lloyd the hotel residents and staff “would have been terrified” when the mob smashed their way into the hotel building.

The judge said: “I have seen the footage of what occurred. It was frightening and alarming even to watch in the court room.

“It must have been utterly terrifying for those present, including the police officers.”

Richard Adams, defending, said his client had gone to the area to go shopping at the Aldi supermarket next door, but “he made the foolish error of deciding to go and have a look” at the disorder.

Lloyd, of Oak Avenue, Rotherham, admitted violent disorder at a previous hearing.