Men guilty of violent disorder near asylum hotel

Men guilty of violent disorder near asylum hotel3 hours agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleLewis AdamsEssexPA MediaKeith Silk (left) and Jonathan Glover formed part of an "aggressive mob" in Epping, their trial was toldThree men have been convicted of committing violent disorder during protests outside an asylum hotel in Essex.Up to 500 people gathered outside The Bell Hotel in Epping on 17 July after a migrant living there was charged with - and later jailed for - sex offences.Keith Silk, 33, Jonathan Glover, 47, and Charlie Land, 24, formed part of an "aggressive mob" among the crowd, a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court heard.The defendants, from Essex and Hertfordshire, are due to be sentenced on 19 August.Prosecutors said while the protest was initially peaceful, it descended into "serious public disorder" at about 17:30 BST.It followed the arrival of about 50 counter-demonstrators, which led to clashes among the two groups.Essex Police said an officer suffered injuries to their neck during clashes on 17 JulySilk, of Torrington Drive, Loughton, threw a bottle at a police vehicle and was caught on camera trying to pull a hotel sign from the ground.Footage also showed a hooded man, identified as Land, of Warren Close in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, smashing the windscreen of a police vehicle and ripping off wing mirrors.Glover, of Springfields in Waltham Abbey, was seen confronting officers and getting into an altercation with them.Prosecutor Sam Willis said Glover lost two teeth when an officer pushed him back with their riot shield.A senior police officer previously described the scenes as the worst he had seen in his 20 years of policing.PA MediaPolicing protests outside The Bell Hotel cost police £1.54mSeveral other people have been convicted following the demonstrations outside The Bell Hotel on 17 July.Three others were jailed in October, while Lee Gower, 43, and 38-year-old Shaun Thompson, both from Epping, were sentenced earlier...