Man detained on flight, is jailed for Southport disorder

A man who was arrested on a plane after he arrived home from holiday has been jailed for one year and eight months for violent disorder in Southport.

Thomas Whitehead, 53, of Pool Street, in Southport, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday, Wednesday 21 August, after pleading guilty to violent disorder.

Whitehead was detained on Tuesday 13 August on a Ryanair flight after returning to the country from holiday.

Officers were able to identify Whitehead as being involved in the appalling scenes in Southport on Tuesday 30 July when he threw an object at officers during violent disorder.

Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims said: “The arrest of Whitehead just goes to show that Merseyside Police will leave no stone unturned in its efforts to trace the people responsible for violent disorder in Merseyside and bring them to justice.

“We have now arrested 86 people and 29 of these have now been sentenced in court. These numbers are only going to increase over the coming days and weeks as we continue to identify more and more people involved.

“I would continue to appeal to anyone who has any information about anyone involved in the disorder to contact us or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 as a matter of urgency.”

There were four other men who were also jailed yesterday:

• Jake Lowther, 20, of Abrams Fold, in Banks, was jailed for 18 months

• Daniel Carrigan, 41, of Preston Grove, Anfield, was jailed for 32 months

• Luke Moran, 38, of Leybourne Avenue, Birkdale, was jailed for three years

• Nicholas Sinclair, 38, of Bury Road, Birkdale, was jailed for 28 months Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.