LONDON: A British man was on Wednesday jailed for three years for violent disorder during anti-Muslim riots last week, one of the first sentences from a wave of violence after the killing of three girls in northwest England.
Derek Drummond, 58, was sentenced to three years in prison at Liverpool Crown Court having pleaded guilty to violent disorder and assaulting an emergency worker by punching a police officer.
The sentence is believed to be first imposed for a charge of violent disorder since trouble erupted after three young girls were killed in a knife attack in the seaside town of Southport.
“The genuine and collective grief of the residents of Southport was effectively hijacked by this callous behavior,” Judge Andrew Menary said.
Another man, Declan Geiran, 29, was jailed for 30 months after pleading guilty to violent disorder and arson by setting the seatbelt of a police van on fire in Liverpool city center on Aug. 3.
Liam Riley, 41, was jailed for 20 months having pleaded guilty to violent disorder and a racially-aggravated public order offense.

Thousands of riot police stood ready Wednesday as Britain remained on alert for disturbances during far-right protests across the country.
Nightly riots, during which mosques and migrant targets have been attacked, erupted after the three children were murdered.
Police said they were investigating several racially-motivated hate crimes in Belfast on Tuesday, including an attack on a young boy that left him with minor facial injuries.
And far-right groups plan demonstrations Wednesday in more than 30 locations, with immigration lawyers and buildings hosting asylum seekers primary targets, according to posts on messaging app Telegram leaked to the British media.

The government has said 6,000 specialist police are on standby to deal with the disorder, which has seen more than 425 people arrested and at least 120 charged, according to latest police figures.