‘Tripod’ wielding rioter threw racial abuse and made ‘cutthroat’ signs in town centre

Joseph Bigland, 43, had been living in Bolton town centre while homeless as violence whipped across the country after the tragic killings of three children in Southport last July.

Bolton Crown Court heard how two rival groups of protesters and counter-protesters had faced off against each other as police kept them apart on Sunday August 4.

Judge Jon Close said: “Many of the protests were at best misguided and utterly unjustifiable.”

Addressing Bigland, he added: “Unusually you had not travelled to the scene of the protest because you at the time were street homeless living in the area the protest took place.”

Disorder gripped Bolton town centre last summer (Image: Phil Taylor)

But he said that Bigland was caught on CCTV making threats of violence and “comments of a racial nature” toward the counter-protesters.

Judge Close said: “While shouting that racial abuse you were in possession of what appeared to be a tripod and were making a cutthroat gesture towards the counter protesters.”

A previous court hearing had been shown videos by prosecutor Philip Hall which caught Bigland holding “two pieces of wood”, making threating comments and making the cutthroat gesture. 

The case was heard at Bolton Crown Court (Image: Newsquest)

Bigland, who has 36 previous convictions for 47 offences, pleaded guilty to violent disorder after being arrested.

He looked on via videolink from prison as the court heard about the wider impact the disorder had had on the country.

Staff and shoppers at town centre businesses had been scared while bystanders had often been trapped inside premises as the violent scenes unfolded.

Judge Close said that this was “disorder and division that pulls at the very threads of our civilised society.”

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He added: “Fortunately Bolton was not as battle scarred as other areas in the North West.”

At a previous hearing Anthony Horsefall, defending, had argued Bigland, of Bradford Street, had played a “peripheral” role in the disorder.

Taking up the defence at the final sentencing hearing Mark Friend reminded the court that Bigland had not sought out the disorder but had simply been living in the town at the time.

He said that the 43-year-old had “struggled with a variety of issues and vulnerabilities” and had lived a “difficult and at times isolated existence.”

Judge Close jailed Bigland for two years.  
 

Source – INDIA TV