Merseyside's youngest rioter appears at court in his school shoes after handing himself in to police

A 12-year-old boy handed himself in to the police after he was captured on camera throwing stones at officers while a mob shouted racist abuse and targeted a mosque. The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, joined the mob of around 1,000 people gathered on both St Luke’s Road and Sussex Road in Southport who repeatedly targeted a local mosque and police officers with missiles over a number of hours.

Angela Conlan, prosecuting told Liverpool Youth Court this afternoon, Tuesday, September 17 that "the defendant is here following the violent disorder on July 30 following on from the tragic stabbing of the three young girls on July 29". Ms Conlan told the court that the boy was with a friend on the night of the disorder and threw two stones towards a line of police officers at around 8.45pm.

The boy, who is the youngest to be sentenced on Merseyside in connection with the rioting that later spread to Liverpool city centre and the wider UK, appeared back before the court after he admitted his role in the violent disorder at a previous appearance in August. The youth court heard today that the boy, who has already has had issues with alcohol, attended the riot at a time where he was in transition between his mum and dad's care.

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Ms Conlan told the court that the boy was at the riot for around 45 minutes before he returned home. However, the mob's violence continued for a number of hours as the crowd engaged in serious disorder. Ms Conlan read a statement on behalf of Police Constable Bourhill, who was deployed to the Southport streets following reports of a growing crowd.

The officer said he was hit with three pieces of concrete - one hitting his shin and resulting in a wound, another hitting his riot shield and a third smashing into his riot helmet. He told the court his "vision darkened and went black and I felt like I was going to faint". He said he was taken to Aintree with concussion and a damaged tendon following the incident and has very little memory of what happened.

He added "the behaviour of the crowd was shocking" and recalled never seeing so much violence and abuse towards the police. He said: "Due to their actions I believe the aim of the crowd was to injure police officers." In all 93 police officers were injured in the trouble.

Ms Conlan also read a statement from Ibrahim Hussein, the imam of the local mosque who was inside when the crowd targeted the building. Mr Hussein's statement revealed that he, three security guards sent by the Home Office to protect the mosque and four local men who had arrived at the mosque for evening prayers were trapped inside by the mob. He recalled hearing shouts of "we will get you out of there you Muslim b*******" from the crowd who were drinking from cans of alcohol.

The imam said he took those inside the mosque to his office where they heard heavy objects hitting the outside of the building. When they looked out the window they saw a crowd of around 500 to 1,000 people. He said they heard "explosions that shook the whole building" and saw police vehicles set on fire. He said: "I thought if we weren't going to be killed by the crowd we would die from smoke inhalation."

The group inside the mosque were eventually rescued by police. Mr Hussein said when they stepped outside the mosque "it was like a warzone". He said he saw a number of injured officers and riot officers blocking the road, while burnt vehicles and objects littered the streets. However, he said the response of the community, who fixed walls and fences at the mosque the following day was heart-warming.

The boy's defence solicitor Heather Toohey told the court: "It's widely accepted this was some of the worst violent disorder this country has seen. The defendant has asked me to advance his deepest regret. He knows he acted foolishly and stupidly but it has to be taken into account that this is a 12-year-old."

She said her client "plays a minor role in a much more serious offence". She said it was accepted he threw two stones towards the police officers, but didn't target the mosque or engage in the racist chanting. She said: "He has expressed remorse with a lot of maturity.

"He hasn't tried to minimise it or to justify it. This was a boy with his friend. He was not there for a short amount of time but it was relevantly short for the disorder." Ms Toohey discredited the claims of adults who said they had got caught up in the rioting when they have previously been sentenced, but said: "When you are 12 getting caught up in a spontaneous act it is far more believable and understandable.

"He wasn't a main mover, he wasn't chanting, there is no evidence that he harbours any prejudice." Ms Toohey said that in terms of having an unstable upbringing, the youngster “ticks every box”. However, the court heard that on the night of the rioting, the boy's dad, who has recently taken custody of his son, knew he was with a friend in the local area and went looking for him after he heard of the disorder.

The court heard the boy, of north Sefton, later handed himself in to the police with the support of his mum after his picture was circulated by Merseyside Police. He spent a night in the cell before his first appearance at court, with Ms Toohey telling the judge this alone has acted as a deterrent for him.

Sentencing the boy, who was supported in court by his dad, District Judge Wendy Lloyd said: "It's right to say you have had a complicated and sad young life. School has not gone well for you and at the age of 12 you already have had alcohol issues which I find very concerning. I believe you are a young man with many challenges and you are not to blame for many of them."

However, she said: "I am told that you didn't think about what you were doing but there wasn't much to think about at all. You knew people were throwing things towards the police and the mosque and you must have known that was wrong.

"It really was a horrible situation and you made it more horrible by engaging in throwing stones. Many police officers were hurt that night." District Judge Lloyd added the young boy also put himself at risk by joining the "angry, racist mob".

The judge sentenced the boy, who wore a black fleece and school shoes, to a 12-month referral order. This means the boy must agree to a contract of rehabilitative and restorative elements with the court, as well as doing extra work in the community with various agencies.

District Judge Lloyd said: "There is a great deal of work to be done and I want that to be in the hands of the court." She also imposed a 9am to 7pm curfew for the next three months, made a six-month parenting order for his dad, ordered costs of £85 and the necessary surcharge, and lastly ordered his dad to pay £200 to the damaged mosque.