A man who drove a pickup truck loaded with debris to a hotel housing asylum seekers and allowed rebels to use the truck’s load as a missile has been jailed.

Jake Turton parked a red Ford Ranger near the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, Manvers, on August 4 and wooden panels were then thrown at officers by others who were there.

Sheffield Crown Court heard the panels were also used as fuel for burning bins at the scene, with police and hotel staff “fearing for their lives” during the chaos.

Turton, 38, of Darfield, Barnsley, admitted violent disorder and was jailed for two years and three months.

Asylum seekers and hotel staff were trapped on the hotel’s upper floors as rioters smashed the building’s windows and set fire to rubbish bins used to block the doors, the sentencing heard.

The court heard more than 50 police officers were injured and police horses and dogs were also injured.

Although Turton did not physically attack anyone, Judge Sarah Wright said a prison sentence was inevitable due to the seriousness of the “horrific incident”.

“You were part of a violent mob that went down, spread hatred, and allowed people to arm themselves in massive civil unrest that left police and hotel staff fearing for their lives,” the judge told Turton.

The court heard the defendant claimed he came to the riot out of “curiosity” but in text messages found on his phone he discussed going to the scene and describing it as “awesome”.

In a statement read to the court, a senior police officer described the disturbance as “the worst violence he had ever encountered” due to the “extreme malice” shown.

Prosecutor Alisha Kaye said: “You openly allowed people to take wood panels from your truck, thereby engaging in a joint venture with hostility towards those seeking asylum.”

Turton was cleared of the charge of taking the vehicle without consent.

Judge Wright told him: “This incident has damaged the reputation of Rotherham and South Yorkshire.

“This was a terrible ordeal for the ordinary, decent citizens of the area, so your role in this to protect the public should be severely punished.”

More than 60 men who played a role in the chaos outside the hotel have so far been jailed.

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