Trio jailed over violent disorder in city centre

Three people charged with causing violent disorder in Plymouth city centre have been jailed.

Daniel McGuire, 45, of Crescent Avenue, Plymouth, Lucas Ormond Skeaping, 29, of Warran Lane, Tavistock and Michael Williams, 51, of Blacklands Close, Sparkwell, were sentenced at Plymouth Crown Court.

The trio were among six arrested after groups of protesters clashed on Royal Parade and outside the Guildhall on Monday evening in the latest in a series of incidents across the UK.

McGuire was jailed for two years and two months, Williams was jailed for two years and eight months, and Skeaping was jailed for one year and six months.

Sentencing McGuire and Williams, Judge Robert Linford said they “added oxygen to the fire of disorder”.

“The word is going to go out from this court that we don’t want you behaving in this way,” he said.

“If you come here and do this you are going inside and you are going inside for a considerable period of time.”

Sentencing Skeaping, he said: “You did not come into the city looking for a fight, you came here to protest and to do so peacefully.

“But things rapidly deteriorated. The tension was ramped up and missiles started to be thrown.”