Girl rioter, 16, hurled rocks at police to try to impress boy she fancied

The teenage girl took part in disorder outside the Holiday Inn Express hotel in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, which was housing about 240 asylum seekers when it was besieged

A 16-year-old girl hurled rocks at police after she followed a boy she had a crush on to a riot to try to impress him, a court heard.

The teenager, who cannot be named, was part of a group on the periphery of the disorder outside the Holiday Inn Express hotel in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, which was housing about 240 asylum seekers when it was besieged.

Bodyworn camera footage caught the girl throwing a stone or piece of rubble at riot police. A youth court heard the teen "followed a boy to the scene" after they saw what was happening on social media on August 4. Helen White, defending, told the court in Sheffield: "She wanted to impress him. She had a bit of a crush on this young man."

But, when they arrived outside the hotel, the defendant "got caught up", the solicitor said. The court heard that, after she was arrested, the girl told police it was an "act of stupidity".

Ms White said her client has already been punished by her mother, who went down to the scene to "chastise" her daughter for being there. Ms White said: "She simply got caught up and committed a criminal act which she now bitterly regrets."

The solicitor said: "Immaturity certainly played a huge part here." She said: "To say that she is remorseful for her actions would be an understatement." Ms White added: "She was lucky that none of the missiles did in fact connect with any of the police staff."

Asked if she wanted to say anything, the girl, a college student with a part-time job, told District Judge Marcus Waite: "Just that I'm not going to do anything like that again."

She admitted violent disorder at a previous hearing and had no previous convictions. Judge Waite imposed a 12-month intensive referral order and told her to pay £111 in costs and surcharges, payable at £5 a week.

He told her that, if she was just a couple of years older, she would have had a much more severe sentencing. He said: "There are teenagers who have gone to prison for years for being involved in this riot."

The court heard how the girl's actions were part of the mob violence outside the hotel which lasted for hours and left more than 50 police officers injured, as well as four dogs and a horse.

At one point, the rioters broke into the hotel and tried to set the building alight as staff and residents barricaded themselves in, fearing they would die, the courts have heard. More than 70 people have now been sentenced for their part in this incident.