Man who pushed police officers during large-scale disorder at Yorkshire hotel jailed for 20 months
A man who pushed police officers during a large-scale riot at a Yorkshire hotel in 2024 has been jailed after handing himself in to police.
Darren Ward was part of what police described as an “aggressive mob” who attacked police officers while they were protecting a hotel in Rotherham ion August 4, 2024.
South Yorkshire Police said the 55-year-old was part of the “deplorable scenes” at the Holiday Inn Express Hotel, in Manvers, when a riot broke out.
He was recorded pushing police officers and displaying threatening behaviour, the force said.
Ward, of Norville Crescent, Barnsley, recognised himself in a media appeal issued by police in the days and weeks following the incident, and handed himself in exactly three months later on November 4, 2024.
When interviewed by officers, Ward refused to provide a comment when questioned about his behaviour at the hotel.
Following his arrest, he was charged with violent disorder - to which he pleaded guilty.
On Monday, he was jailed for 20 months at Sheffield Crown Court.
More than 100 people have been charged and the majority, including a 14-year-old boy, convicted in connection with the violence on that day.
Jail sentences of up to nine years have been handed down as a steady stream of people involved in the rioting have appeared before the courts.