Couple jailed for rioting outside asylum centre following afternoon at the bingo

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A couple have been jailed after rioting on the streets of Hartlepool as part of a “baying mob” - hours after spending the afternoon at the bingo.

Former school governor and postmaster Steven Mailen, 54, and his partner Ryan Sheers, 29, were both sentenced to two years and two months behind bars after pleading guilty to violent disorder in the northeastern town.

Sheers and Mailen were “at the very forefront” of a “baying mob”, which was targeting buildings housing asylum seekers on Murray Street last Wednesday, Judge Francis Laird KC said.

Mailen, of Arch Court, Hartlepool, was described as “one of the main instigators” while Sheers, of Powlett Road, Hartlepool, was bitten on the hip by a police dog during the chaos.

Teesside Crown Court heard Mailen and Sheers had been at bingo together in the afternoon and continued drinking at home.

They told police they came upon the disturbance on the way to the shop to buy more alcohol and ended up being “at the very forefront of the mob”.

Rachel Masters, prosecuting, said officers at the scene described Mailen as “one of the main instigators of a large scale disturbance”.

The court heard that over 10 minutes he “taunted” police and appeared to be “inciting the gathered crowd to use violence towards them”.

Both Mailen and Sheers attempted to push through a police cordon, it was said.

At one point Mailen approached an officer and “gesticulated towards him, shouting abuse at him” until he was struck on the leg by an officer’s extendable baton.

Sheers, who one officer described as “particularly violent” was bitten by a police dog “in the right hip/buttock area”.

Ms Masters said Mailen made an attempt to grab the dog or dog handler and when an officer tried to detain him, grabbed his radio and tucked it under his arm.

He was struck again with a baton and kicked the officer in the shins numerous times.

The court heard he continued to lash out as he was being arrested and it took three officers to get his arms behind his back and get the handcuffs on.

Nigel Soppitt, defending both men, said the behaviour was an “isolated activity” for them and they had expressed remorse.

The court heard Mailen is a former postmaster and school governor who, in the past, has “called out prejudice of all kinds”.

After watching bodyworn camera footage of the incident, Judge Francis Laird KC told them: “Your behaviour and the behaviour of others around you was truly disgraceful.”

He said: “There was large scale damage to property and members of the public have been forced to endure the devastation and chaos caused to their community.

“The public are rightly outraged by this behaviour on the streets of this country.”

Three more people are due to be sentenced over the Hartlepool disorder at Teesside Crown Court on Thursday.