Mother gets jail time for throwing stones at police during riot

A new mother who threw a rock at police during riots has been jailed for a year.

Tamsyn Cerr, 21, was also seen on footage handing missiles to a man to hurl at officers in Hartlepool during the July 31 disturbances, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Cerr, who admitted a violent disorder, missed her first child’s first birthday because she was in custody following the assault, the court was told.

Cleveland Police Chief Mark Webster said the level of hatred and aggression shown to police in the city that night was “unprecedented”.

Prosecutor Rachel Masters said the city’s anti-immigration protests turned violent amid a wave of similar outbreaks of disorder across the country.

‘Devastating impact’

The video showed Cerr, of Firby Close in Hartlepool, throwing a rock at officers and then passing one to a man to throw.

In mitigation, Calum McNicholas said she had acted impulsively and had already been punished by missing her child’s first birthday due to her incarceration.

Judge Grancis Laird KC said it was not “impulsive” as Cerr made a number of decisions, namely to go to the scene and become involved in the violence.

He said the disorder had had a “devastating impact” on the community and had put “significant pressure” on police.

But he said Cerr had “powerful personal mitigating factors,” including her young age, immaturity, disability and motherhood of a young child, so her prison sentence was reduced compared to other offenders.

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