Woman who fell over while trying to ram riot police with wheelie bin jailed

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A woman who fell over while trying to ram police with a burning wheelie bin during a riot has been jailed.

Stacey Vint, 34, was jailed for 20 months on Friday after she attempted to attack a police line with during disorder in Middlesbrough town centre.

Teesside Crown Court heard she was part of a group who set alight a wheelie bin then pushed it into a police cordon on Sunday.

In the process of doing so, Vint fell to the ground and was arrested.

Charlie Bullock, 21, who was described as “the main instigator” of a large group pushing against a police line and throwing stones and rocks at officers, was jailed for 18 months.

Vint and Bullock both pleaded guilty to violent disorder and were sentenced on Friday.

In a separate incident during disorder in Sunderland, another rioter, who repeatedly pushed industrial bins at a police line during riots, has been jailed for two-and-a-half years.

Leanne Hodgson, 43, of Holborn Road, Sunderland, also deliberately ran into an officer and called another one a “f****** black c***” during the disorder on 2 August.

Newcastle Crown Court heard when police saw her early in the evening she was “clearly under influence of alcohol and shouting abuse at officers”.

Later on, an officer described Hodgson “running straight at him and colliding with him”. He said it was “clearly a deliberate act” and when he looked at her afterwards she was “laughing and pointing at him”.

The defendant was identified by police from videos on social media, where she was seen pushing industrial bins towards police, picking up a glass bottle and motioning as if to throw it at officers. She was also breaking bricks on the ground before throwing them into the crowd to be used as missiles.

The court heard she also threw an object at a parked police vehicle, smashing the windscreen.

After Hodgson was arrested the next day, police learned she had tried to buy a balaclava from the post office earlier.

In mitigation, the court heard she has “mental health difficulties exacerbated by alcohol problems” and was “ashamed of her actions”.

On Monday, she pleaded guilty to violent disorder.

The 43-year-old denied being involved in the original march but said she had been out drinking and became involved in the disorder when the pub closed, the court head.

John Garside, prosecuting, said “there was a large crowd cheering and joining in” as Hodgsonpushed the bin at officers.

District Judge Zoe Passfield told her: “This was large-scale mob violence which resulted in fear to the public and damage to local businesses.

“There is absolutely no justification for it.”