Eight Men Plead Guilty to Violent Disorder After Southampton Protests

Four more men have pleaded guilty to violent disorder following protests held in Southampton after the murder of Henry Nowak. Hampshire police said earlier it had charged six more men, in their 20s and 30s - four from Southampton, one from Gosport and Romsey - after disorder in the city on Tuesday night. The protests followed the release of police bodycam footage showing 18-year-old Nowak being placed in handcuffs after he had been stabbed by Vickrum Digwa, 23, who was jailed for life on Monday. All six appeared at Southampton Magistrates' Court on Saturday. This brings the total number of people charged following the protests to 11. Earlier on Saturday, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said the following five men had been charged with violent disorder: A sixth man, Andrew Summerhayes, 38, from Romsey, was charged with violent disorder and two counts of possessing an offensive weapon in a public place. Summerhayes, Crawford, Varney and Grundy pleaded guilty to violent disorder at Southampton Magistrates Court earlier. Varney and Grundy's bail applications have been denied. Summerhayes further pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing an offensive weapon, which were a wheelie bin and a traffic cone. He made no application for bail. No pleas have been entered for Reeves and Riddett, and no bail application was made for them. All six are due to appear at Southampton Crown Court on Wednesday. To date eight men have pleaded guilty to violent disorder, with one also having a dog lead with a metal carabiner as an offensive weapon. One man has denied assaulting a police officer. Connor Bishop, 24, Reece Robinson, 21, and Noah Etherington, 18, admitted violent disorder during magistrates' court hearings in Southampton and Portsmouth on Friday. Daniel Frost, 44, of Southampton, pleaded guilty on Thursday to violent disorder and possessing a dog lead with a metal carabiner as an offensive weapon following the protests. Also on Thursday, 50-year-old Matt Styler, of Gosport, pleaded not guilty to assaulting a police officer.