A teenage boy has admitted to throwing an object “towards mounted police” during the disorder that rocked Bolton town centre last week. Riot police were called to Victoria Square and Bradshawgate on Sunday August 4 amid a stand off between demonstrators and counter demonstrators. On the afternoon of Monday August 12 a 16-year-old boy was brought before Manchester Magistrates Court, sitting as a youth court, in connection with the disorder.
Prosecutor Tess Kenyon said the boy was seen on CCTV on August 4 throwing “an object towards mounted police officers who were trying to disperse protesters.” She said that the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was also seen “walking towards an ongoing protest with a weapon in his hand." Police on Bradshawgate (Image: Phil Taylor) Ms Kenyon added that video footage also showed him aiding looters by “holding up shutters of a convenience store while others are trying to get into the store”.
In a statement read out to the court, the shop owner said: “I believe it was targeted because of racism against me.” The boy pleaded guilty to violent disorder. District Judge Joanne Hirst said the case was “a very serious matter” and told the boy: “You should be thoroughly ashamed of yourself.
“Your mum deserves better than this, we all deserve better.” The boy was remanded to local authority accommodation and banned from Bolton town centre. He will be brought back to Manchester Magistrates’ Court to learn his fate on Monday September 2.
The disturbances that gripped Bolton town centre came in the wake of a self-proclaimed “Enough is Enough: Take Back Our Country” protest , which prompted a counter demonstration. ALSO READ: Man admits throwing missile at police in Bolton disorder ALSO READ: Police at heated Bolton town centre far-right protest ALSO READ: Law firms 'targeted' after Bolton town centre demonstrations This came on Sunday August 4, just a day after central Manchester had been hit by disturbances around the Piccadilly Gardens area. Unrest was reported all across the country in the wake of the Southport stabbings earlier that week.
In Bolton, demonstrators and counter demonstrators were kept apart by police with riot gear, on horseback and with dogs in Victoria Square and on Bradshawgate. Since then, police and the courts have processed a number of people arrested and charged in connection with the disorder..
