A MAN who was arrested at a Black Lives Matter demonstration in London was given a suspended jail sentence.

Darren McKittrick was part of a large-scale counter protest who pushed over a policeman trying to keep the groups apart last June.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the officer’s riot visor was shattered as he fell to the road as some of the protesters threw bricks.

The court heard how the 41-year-old construction worker was drunk and there was a suspicion that there was an element of racist motivation.

Recorder Andrew Dallas said: "You and others from the North-East decided to attend a counter demonstration apparently, you say, because you feared that many might damage statues in London, although there is a suspicion that there was racial motivation here.

”Looking at this case alone I am prepared to deal with this on the basis that this was something of an aberration by you tagging along with others whose motives might not have been so sound.

“You went down, got drunk and you ended up on the front line of a confrontation where the police struggled with other emergency services at the heart of the pandemic found themselves coping with you and others of like mind.”

Shaun Dryden, in mitigation, said that McKittrick was the sole carer and provider for three children, supporting them and paying the mortgage on their home.

McKittrick of Sowerby Crescent, Stokesley, was given an 18-month jail sentence suspended for two years after pleading guilty to violent disorder. He was also ordered to pay £400 costs.

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can also follow our dedicated Teesside Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.

For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054