Northampton man jailed for ‘ferocious’ attack during protest

He punched an unknown man in the face and aimed a “ferocious” kick at another victim’s head at about 19:00 BST that day, the court heard.

The hearing was told Ali, of Alcombe Road, Northampton, had previously been convicted for possession of ammonia in a public place and dealing heroin and crack cocaine. The judge ordered Ali to consecutively serve a year of a suspended sentence imposed for those previous offences.

Ali’s barrister said his latest crime had been a “moment of madness”, but the judge said the offending warranted “immediate and substantial punishment”.

“Your offending must be seen in the context of the widespread and extensively reported scenes of disorder, violence and criminal damage which has taken place around the country,” Ms Lucking said.