The court heard how he joined in shocking scenes of trouble
A rioter joined in shocking scenes of trouble by helping to pile tyres onto a rapidly-growing fire outside a garage where a terrified family was cowering inside. Craig Eade was also among the troublemakers who hurled threats at police and he was part of an angry group who surrounded a car containing three men.
Shouts of “Kill them” were heard during the frightening confrontation, Hull Crown Court heard. Eade, 55, formerly of Welwyn Park Avenue, Hull, but recently of Front Street, Middleton-on-the-Wolds, near Driffield, admitted violent disorder and arson on August 3 last year.
Marc Luxford, prosecuting, said that the offences took place on the day of nationwide disorder in the wake of the Southport attack. At 12.50pm, Eade was in King Edward Street, Hull, and he was part of a group that was threatening violence and squaring up to police.
He kicked a police officer’s shield. Later that day, Eade was spotted in the Milky Way area and he was involved in piling up of hundreds of tyres which were then set alight.
Two garage workers at locked themselves in the garage with their families and children to escape from the crowd, who shouted: “You b*****d foreigners – come out.” One of the men held the shutter down to keep his family safe.
His autistic daughter was in panic and he and his family feared that they would suffocate from the smoke that was filling the garage. “The defendant added tyres to the burning pile and was present when it was set alight,” said Mr Luxford.
“He was seen to throw a road cone on to the blaze.” The value of the tyres burned was £4,000 and the total damage caused was about £20,000.
At 5pm, a silver BMW car containing three foreign nationals tried to drive past the group but it was violently attacked. Eade was among those who surrounded the car and made gestures at the occupants.
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He kicked the rear door of the car. The crowd was shouting: “Kill them.” At 6pm, Eade was on Jameson Street and he was involved in further clashes with the police.
“He was subsequently detained on the scene and removed from the area,” said Mr Luxford. Eade was not arrested until March 3 after police originally could not find him.
“He knew he was wanted but he didn’t want to be found,” said Mr Luxford. Eade had convictions for 15 previous offences between 1991 and 2007, most recently for taking a vehicle without consent and having no insurance and driving licence in April 2007.
Holly Thompson, mitigating, said that Eade pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity. “He has stayed out of trouble for a significant period of time, around 18 years,” said Miss Thompson.
“His offending has previously been of a low level, certainly nothing as serious as this. He has never received custodial sentence or been remanded in custody.
“There is nothing that can be said to excuse this defendant’s behaviour and what he accepts was utterly disgusting behaviour. He is remorseful and he accepted the role that he had to play and didn’t try to shy away from this.
“He attended the protests and things got out of hand. He had chances to leave. Like an idiot, he made the decision to follow the group to the Royal Hotel and, like a sheep, he followed that flock to the rest of the places of disorder.
“There is no suggestion that he was the one who lit the flames on the tyres. He wasn’t an instigator and didn’t carry out a leading role. He was not the one who set the train in motion.”
Eade had lived in a caravan and had consistently been in full-time employment, including since March as a motorcycle mechanic. “There has been no offending since,” said Miss Thompson.
Judge Mark Bury told Eade: “These offences occurred against a backdrop of violence aimed at a variety of different people – asylum seekers who were housed at the Royal Hotel, the police who were charged with keeping order and a number of businesses, including one which was affected by arson. It was run by an Asian family who were hiding in the premises at the time out of fear and who were extremely apprehensive about what would happen to their business and to them.
“This started off as a peaceful protest against asylum seekers arising out of false reports that an asylum seeker had murdered three children in Southport. What happened after that peaceful protest came to an end represents a stain on this city.
“You were involved in violence from a reasonably early time. People were injured. The police were injured. Property was damaged. People were scared.” Eade, who had been on bail, was jailed for two years and eight months.