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A Wakefield teenager has admitted being part of a group who violently rocked a police van during rioting in Rotherham, leaving a police community support officer (PCSO) fearing for his life.

18-year-old Kenzie Roughley, of Barnsley Road, Pontefract, West Yorkshire, was filmed punching and kicking a South Yorkshire Police CCTV van as hundreds of people battled with officers outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Wath-upon-Dearne, Rotherham, a district judge was told.

Footage of the van being rocked from side, with its rooftop mast swinging alarmingly, was one of many dramatic images of violence on Sunday, August 4, 2024.

Prosecutor Simon Walton told Sheffield Magistrates’ Court today that the PCSO inside the vehicle “described fearing for his life”. | NW/Getty

Prosecutor Simon Walton told Sheffield Magistrates’ Court on Thursday that the PCSO inside the vehicle “described fearing for his life”.

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The officer got into the driver’s seat and managed to drive it away, Mr Walton said.

Wearing a light blue hoodie, blond-haired Roughley yawned in the glass-fronted dock as he confirmed his details and pleaded guilty to one count of violent disorder.

He was remanded in custody to appear at Sheffield Crown Court on Friday.

Teen who left police officer fearing for life during Rotherham riots pleads guilty to violent disorder