Father-of-three left police officer fearing for life amid disorder

A father-of-three who left a police officer fearing for his life as he tried to smash a van window amid disorder has been jailed for three years.

Liverpool Crown Court heard Luke Moran, 38, had lost his job with a roofing firm after his image was published after violence broke out in Southport the day after a knife attack in which three girls were killed.

Rebecca Smith, prosecuting, said Moran, of Leybourne Avenue, Birkdale, was seen on footage with a large piece of concrete in his hands, smashing the driver’s side window of a police vehicle with an officer inside.

Judge Neil Flewitt KC told the court: “This is as bad a case as I have seen so far.”

He said serious disorder, in the form of vandalism, intimidation and violence, broke out in Merseyside and across the country following the fatal stabbing in Southport on July 29, in which three girls died.

I’m going to have to bail, my window’s about to go through

On July 30 a “mob” formed in Southport, initially focused on the local mosque, and there were chants of “ Allah , Allah, who the f*** is Allah” and “this is our f****** country”, the judge said.

The court was played bodyworn footage from Pc James Hayes in which Moran was holding a chunk of masonry, which he hit the vehicle with three times.

Ms Smith said: “The officer described how he feared for his life.”

In the footage, the constable could be heard telling colleagues over his radio: “I’m going to have to bail, my window’s about to go through.”

Moran appeared in the dock with three other defendants, who fist bumped and said “good luck” to each other before the sentencing began.

Family members of all four defendants were in tears as the sentences were delivered.

Moran’s friend Nicholas Sinclair, 38, a manager at a scaffolding firm, appeared alongside him in the dock on Wednesday and was jailed for two years and four months.

The court heard Sinclair, of Bury Road, Birkdale, was seen in footage from the disorder shouting towards police and throwing bricks.

Simon Christie, defending both men, said they had been “swept up in an incident they neither understood or took the time to consider”.

Judge Flewitt said: “Everybody so far has said they were swept up in the violence, nobody seems to be taking responsibility.”

He added: “It was neither thoughtless nor mindless, it was deliberate.”

Both men had pleaded guilty to violent disorder at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court last week.

Sentenced alongside them were Daniel Carrigan, 41, of Preston Grove in Liverpool, who was jailed for two years and eight months for violent disorder and criminal damage and Thomas Whitehead, 53, of Pool Street Southport, who was sentenced to one year and eight months for violent disorder.