A dad-to-be who took part in the violent disorder in Southport has been released from prison just three months into his 18 month sentence.
Dylan Carey appeared at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on August 6 where he admitted to violent disorder on July 30. The court heard that earlier that evening, the 26-year-old, from Wigan, and his pregnant girlfriend had attended a vigil in the town centre where they laid flowers in memory of Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine.
The vigil was organised following the tragic deaths of the three schoolgirls in a mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class the previous day. After the attack, which also injured eight children and two adults, false information began circulating online.
Consequently, a protest was announced to take place after the vigil, outside Southport Mosque on the corner of St Luke’s Road and Sussex Road. The situation rapidly escalated into violence.
During Carey’s hearing, Prosecutor Joshua Sanderson-Kirk described how police arrived outside the mosque on July 30. He said: “They became aware of a large crowd that was hostile, with approximately 200 people coming towards them.
“Items were thrown towards the mosque. The crowd was chanting who the f*** is Allah. The crowd became more angry. Several were shouting ‘why are you protecting them? ‘.”
Mobile phone camera footage which was provided to Merseyside Police was played to the court. In the footage, Carey was seen in a grey t-shirt picking up an object and throwing it, then kicking a police van as it was driven away, the ECHO reports.
An officer’s body-worn camera meanwhile captures him kicking out at a stationary police van. Under interview following his arrest, he told detectives that he had “attended because his girlfriend attended the vigil to lay flowers and light a candle”.
Carey, of Castle Hill Road, Hindley, was remanded into custody before being sentenced on August 12 to 18 months in prison. He was told how he would miss the birth of his child but was released after just three months in prison.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice said: “Anyone released into Home Detention Curfew faces strict licence conditions and must be tagged. Those who break the rules face being returned to custody.”