A 37-year-old woman who took a young boy to a post-Southport riot which saw an arson attack on a hotel has been jailed for more than two years.
Aimie Hodgkinson-Hedgecox, who has 14 previous convictions involving 30 offences, pleaded guilty to violent disorder after being recorded shouting “incendiary and racist” remarks at police protecting asylum seekers housed at Tamworth’s Holiday Inn Express.
She reacted angrily to being handed a 27-month sentence at Stafford Crown Court, looking towards friends and relatives in the public gallery and complaining: “It’s a joke, it’s a f***ing piss-take.”
Video footage played to the court on Wednesday showed Hodgkinson-Hedgecox, wearing shorts and Crocs-style footwear, swearing towards police lines and having to pull an 11-year-old boy out of the way as a firework was aimed at officers.
The court heard Hodgkinson-Hedgecox had intended to take the boy to a skate park when she saw the crowd outside the hotel on August 4 and decided to join the protest.
Defence lawyer Stephen Rudge urged the court to consider alternatives to custody, including unpaid community work, and said the defendant was “not somebody who holds overtly racist views or opinions”.
Hodgkinson-Hedgecox, whose last previous conviction was for battery in 2009, had left the area shortly after being recorded on three video clips, Mr Rudge said.
Prosecutor Fiona Cortese told the court that following her arrest, Hodgkinson-Hedgecox, of Edale, Stonydelph, Tamworth, admitted that she was shouting abuse about asylum seekers housed at the hotel.
During the disorder, Ms Cortese said, the hotel was damaged and petrol was poured inside and set alight.
Passing sentence, Judge Jonathan Gosling said: “I have watched the footage myself and you were recording the unfolding violence.
“You are clearly visible on the footage shouting incendiary and racist remarks.”
Hundreds of people were involved in a serious attack on the hotel, the judge said.
After ruling that Hodgkinson-Hedgecox’s offending was seriously aggravated by the fact she had taken an 11-year-old boy to the scene, the judge added: “I accept you didn’t have a weapon and you didn’t use any direct violence yourself.”
Judge Gosling said what Hodgkinson-Hedgecox had involved herself in “wasn’t politics” or a right to peaceful protest.
“Nobody is being punished for expressing their own views,” the judge continued. “This was anarchy. You were lending support to an extremely violent racist protest… where lives were endangered.”
In his submissions to the court, Mr Rudge stressed that Hodgkinson-Hedgecox had not contacted anyone else involved and that those participating in the violence were already present.
“She sees the crowd and gets involved,” the defence lawyer said. “It’s a decision she bitterly regrets.”
