"Thug" who lit fire in hotel car park during Rotherham riot jailed for six years
A rioter who set fire to a generator next to a Rotherham hotel housing asylum seekers has been jailed for six years.
Scott Greenwood, aged 34, also stoked a grass fire to create a hazard for officers at the Holiday Inn Express Hotel in Manvers on August 4, and was spotted at the front of the mob taunting a line of riot police.
He was part of a group that set fire to items around a disused generator, and then fed the blaze with fencing smashed down from nearby gardens, Sheffield Crown Court heard today (November 26).
Judge Jeremy Richardson KC heard that Greenwood was easily identified by the St George’s bucket hat he was wearing, and the fact he took off his shirt to tie it around his face.
The defendant claimed he had no racist intent when he attended the disorder at the hotel.
Judge Richardson told Greenwood: “I’m entirely satisfied you went to the area of the hotel with a view to participating in racist mob violence. You took a hat and wore that hat which undoubtedly had racist connotations.
“From first to last, the venom of racism infected the entirety of what occurred. It’s a very sad state of affairs that that flag, and on occasions the Union flag, has been appropriated by racists such as you.
“Immigration is a legitimate matter for public and political debate. Public protest is a legitimate form of public expression. We live in a democratic country where public debate and freedom of expression are entirely acceptable.
“What took place in Rotherham that day had nothing whatsoever to do with legitimate public protest. It was a desire to perpetrate mob rule.”
The judge said the fire was not as serious as the one started outside the fire door of the hotel, but the “vigorous” blaze still posed a serious danger to police and residents in nearby houses.
Greenwood, of Tingle Bridge Lane, Hemingfield, South Yorkshire, admitted violent disorder and arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered at a previous hearing.
Judge Richardson ruled that Greenwood, who has had 44 previous court appearances for 103 separate offences, is “dangerous” and would therefore be subject to an extended sentence.
He said this meant a six-year prison term followed by an extended licence period of three years.
He stood in the glass-fronted dock as he was sentenced, flanked by a security guard.
Judge Richardson told him: “You are a dangerous offender. History could repeat itself.”
South Yorkshire Police called him a “thug”, saying he was identified and arrested following a media release and refused to provide answers in a police interview.
Greenwood is the latest of more than 70 men who have been jailed after the rioting at the hotel.
The court heard that the 240 residents were trapped on the upper floors of the building as rioters broke in and started a fire in a bin at one of the exits, filling the hotel with smoke.
Staff have described how they barricaded themselves into a safe room, fearing they would die.
More than 60 police officers were injured in the disorder, the court heard.