Manchester Riots Man Jailed

1 March 2012, 16:43 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

A man who tore apart areas of Manchester and Salford during the summer riots has been jailed.

22 year old Thomas Thompson, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to violent disorder, arson, four counts of criminal damage and three counts of burglary at an earlier hearing.

Today he was sentenced to five years and seven months at Manchester Crown Court.

On 9th August, Thompson was heavily involved in the ugly scenes of looting and disorder in Salford.

He pleaded guilty to his role in burgling the Cash Convertor store where the shutters were ripped off and good stolen, a burglary at Bargain Booze where alcohol was looted and a burglary at the William Hill bookmakers where TVs and gaming machines were vandalised.

Thompson also pleaded guilty to his part in deliberately setting alight a car, damaging a BBC radio car, and using bricks as missiles to smash the windows of the Salford Precinct Post Office, Precinct and Royal Bank of Scotland.

Assistant Chief Constable Steve Heywood said: “The violent disorder we witnessed in Salford that night - from the setting alight of the radio car, to the sustained looting and wanton damage to people's businesses to the sheer violence GMP officers faced - are images none of us will ever forget.

“It is clear from the charges brought against Thompson that he was heavily involved in a number of those shameful incidents. He was out of control on that night, looting, setting fire to cars and throwing bricks at people's businesses.

“Residents and businesses in Salford are still coming to terms with what happened that night and it is important for people in that community to see that people like Thompson have been brought to justice for what they did.