Couple jailed for inciting Hartlepool mob after drunken bingo session

A couple “incited” a mob to throw objects and hurl abuse at riot officers in Hartlepool after spending a drunken afternoon at the bingo, a court was told.
Ryan Sheers, 28, yelled “I pay your wages” at public order officers as his partner, Steven Mailen, 54, provoked up to 300 rioters in the port town on July 31.
Teesside crown court was told that the two men were at the front of a crowd that pelted the police with bottles, bricks and cans of beer. Video of the altercation shows Sheers getting bitten on the backside by a police dog.
Rachel Masters, for the prosecution, said: “Over the course of ten minutes Mailen, a care worker, goaded officers and used gestures and language that officers perceived to be inciting the crowd to use violence against the police.
“He continued shouting abuse and refused to step back when asked. An officer feared for his safety and that of his colleagues and struck the defendant to the leg with an extendable baton.”
A “red mist” then descended on Sheers, who leapt to his partner’s defence. He was captured on video shouting “I pay your wages” at the officers as he jabbed his finger.
Sheers refused to comply with an order to retreat and officers deployed a police dog, which latched on to his buttock and almost ripped off his shorts. “This had the effect of dispersing the crowd,” Masters added.
Mailen then ran forward and repeatedly kicked the police officer in the shins before three more officers overpowered and arrested him.
Sheers and Mailen each admitted a single charge of violent disorder at an earlier court hearing. Sheers broke down in tears when Judge Francis Laird KC sentenced both men to two years and two months in prison.
Laird said that the couple had been “at the very forefront of the mob”. He told the defendants: “You chose to take part in what was organised and large-scale public disorder.
“In that disorder police officers were attacked and there was large scale damage to property. Members of the public were forced to endure the devastation and chaos caused in their communities. The public are rightly outraged by this behaviour on the streets of this country.”
Nigel Soppitt, in mitigation, said that Sheers had told officers his behaviour was “aggressive and disgusting” and he felt genuine remorse for his actions.
Mailen, a former postmaster, was said to have “no time at all for far-right ideology”, Soppitt said. “He is in a same-sex relationship with Mr Sheers and has grown up in Hartlepool where they have suffered themselves a great deal of prejudice.”
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Chief Constable Mark Webster, who leads Cleveland police, attended the sentencing with several officers and later said: “The level of aggression and violence officers faced and the damage to the community and property is unprecedented.”
Prosecutors said the riots caused an estimated £300,000 of damage across Cleveland and at least 16 police officers had sustained injuries.
Christopher Atkinson, senior district crown prosecutor, said: “The tough sentences handed out on Thursday should serve as a lesson for anyone considering taking part in this type of disorder across the northeast. This show of violence on the streets of Hartlepool has done nothing but instil fear in local residents and cause damage to local businesses.
“Our message is clear: we stand ready to secure convictions and push for the strongest possible sentences against anyone involved in violent unrest. The appalling scenes like those in Hartlepool last week will not be tolerated.”