A Tamworth couple has been sentenced for their role in a hotel riot, causing significant damage and chaos during a protest against asylum seekers.
Tamworth: So, there’s this couple from Tamworth who got themselves into a bit of trouble. Colin Stonehouse, 36, and David Kirkbride, 28, decided to check out a protest at the Holiday Inn Express. They thought it would be interesting, but it turned into a full-blown riot.
They showed up wearing matching football shirts with their initials. Not the best choice, right? They joined a huge crowd that ended up causing nearly £100,000 in damage. Yikes!
For about an hour, they were part of the chaos, with people throwing all sorts of things at the police. It was wild! Fireworks, bricks, you name it. The police were just trying to keep everyone safe inside the hotel.
When they got caught, the prosecutor said they were seen on camera egging people on. Stonehouse was shouting at the police, and Kirkbride was laughing when a firework went off. Not exactly the best way to express your opinions.
When they were arrested, Kirkbride thought he hadn’t done anything wrong, but he did admit that his actions could look a bit racist. Stonehouse just wanted to complain about his taxes going to asylum seekers. They both pleaded guilty to violent disorder.
Their lawyer said they were just naive and didn’t realize how serious their actions were. They’ve been in custody for four months, and the judge said they were model prisoners. But still, they made a really poor choice.
In the end, they got 21 months in jail. The judge said they should have just gone home instead of getting involved in the violence. He made it clear that this kind of behavior won’t be tolerated.
Now, they have to serve at least half of their sentence and can’t go back to that Holiday Inn or any place housing asylum seekers. Lesson learned, I guess!
