Harehills disorder: Three jailed for setting fire to bus in Leeds

Three men who set fire to a double-decker bus during a night of “mob violence” which began when four children were taken into care have been jailed.

Hundreds of people gathered on the streets of Harehills in July, leading to missiles being thrown at police and a patrol car being overturned.

Iustin Dobre, 37, and Mark Mitchell, 34, were jailed for six years and Milan Zamostny, 30, was sentenced to five years and four months after admitting violent disorder and aggravated arson at Leeds Crown Court.

Celan Palaghia, 21, was jailed for three years for throwing bricks at police officers and setting fire to boxes and a sofa in the street.

The court heard police were called to help social services at the evening of 18 July, when a group gathered outside a house in Luxor Street and started shouting and becoming “disorderly”.

The crowd grew and police “were forced to withdraw” after becoming outnumbered and targeted by missiles.

A police car was then flipped on its side, as the crowd moved into Harehills Lane, with people throwing objects at a police line set up around a nearby supermarket.

Attempts were made to enlist the help of a Roma councillor to quell the rising tension, but by 18:30 BST the crowd numbered 300-400 people.

Prosecutor Richard Holland KC told the court a double-decker hybrid bus was forced to stop by the crowds and passengers had to disembark before it was set alight.

He told the court the bus driver had been off work since the incident with mental health concerns and there was a possibility he might not return to his role.

A statement by First Bus said the loss of the bus had cost the company £500,000 and other drivers had since expressed concerns about driving through the Harehills area.

Paul Addison, representing Dobre, said he became “drawn into the disorder” after hearing rumours “that some children from the Roma community had been maltreated by the authorities and the police”.

He said Dobre “saw others acting violently and joined in” but accepts he “acted in a deplorable, violent way” and “apologises to the community in Harehills, of which he is a member, for bringing deep shame and discredit upon them”.

The court was told women and children were crying during the violence and some families kept their children off school because they feared further incidents.

The men were the first to receive jail sentences following the disorder in Harehills, described by Judge Tom Bayliss KC as “mob violence”.

West Yorkshire Police has said more than 40 arrests have been made and the investigation is continuing.

The court heard the financial impact of the disorder that night to West Yorkshire Police and West Yorkshire Fire Service was £300,000.

Judge Tom Bayliss KC told the defendants: “What happened that summer evening serves as a chilling example of how a violent, anarchic mob can, with astonishing ease, achieve a situation of complete lawlessness.

“It also offers a dystopian vision of what can happen when the rule of law is subverted by mob violence.”

He added: “Those who involve themselves in such events can expect deterrent sentences to be imposed.”

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