A "front and centre" member of a mob which rioted outside a mosque and police, just an hour after a vigil was held for three girls in Southport, has been jailed.

Connah Piggott, 25, of Landsdown Road, Broughton near Chester, had previously pleaded guilty to violent disorder.

At Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday, September 5, Piggott – who the court heard was "front and centre" of the mob, throwing missiles at police – was handed a 28-month prison sentence.

Prosecuting, Christopher Taylor said a peaceful vigil had been held in Southport on the evening of July 30. The vigil, at 6pm, was in memory of Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, killed by an attacker at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.

At about 7pm, parents and children left that peaceful vigil. But around that time, about a mile away in St Luke's Road, a large crowd of about 1,000 people gathered and began attacking the Southport Islamic Society Mosque.

Dozens of police officers were deployed to the scene, but the mob – amid their chants of "This is our f*****g country" , surged at officers and threw missiles at them.

Footage was played to the court showing Piggott's role in the riot, as he was involved in crowd surges towards police near the mosque.

Piggott, in a distinctive branded T-shirt and wearing a ski mask with markings, was seen throwing "at least four" missiles towards police, while being "front and centre" of the crowd. Judge Denis Watson KC said one of those missiles looked to be a house brick.

Also shown on the footage was a police carrier which had been set alight and traffic cones and wheelie bins being thrown.

Police arrested Piggott at his place of work in Airbus on August 30. He gave a 'no comment' interview.

The court heard Piggott had one previous conviction, for drink-driving. Character references had been submitted to the court from a retired Merseyside Police officer, a Countess of Chester nurse, and the defendant's mother.

Defending, Michael Gray said Piggott offered "an apology to all concerned by his behaviour", which he recognised had caused "huge harm, huge upset" to police officers and members of the community, and it was "entirely out of character".

He added the defendant was "embarrassed" that he had put his family – in court for the sentencing – in this position.

The court heard Piggott, an Airbus fitter, had recently been promoted, but had now lost that job.

Mr Gray added Piggott had assisted charities in the past and had, at 16, gone to Army college in Harrogate with the intention of becoming an Army soldier, but left after 11 months as he felt he was a little too young at the time, hoping to return someday to become an Army reservist.

Judge Watson queried Mr Gray's comment that Piggott's actions were "acting on impulse", saying the defendant had travelled from Chester to Southport that night and had bought a ski mask.

Mr Gray said the defendant told him the ski mask was given to him at the scene, and his initial intention was to go to the vigil.

Judge Watson asked: "Did he go to the vigil?"

Mr Gray replied: "No."

Sentencing, Judge Watson said the "utterly lawless mob", "without any evidence or justification", attacked the mosque on July 30, and the "racist agenda of the mob was clear", even though all involved at the mosque were "completely blameless".

The disorder had left 50 police officers injured that night alone, along with £100k damage to a police carrier.

Judge Watson told Piggott: "The description of you being 'front and centre' [of the mob] is entirely accurate."

He added immediate custody was an appropriate deterrent sentence.

Speaking after sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Tony Roberts said: “The despicable actions of those involved that day left more than 50 officers injured and Piggott was seen on video repeatedly throwing bricks toward police officers.

“Like many others, he wore a balaclava in a bid to hide his identity. But thanks to officers who trawled many hours of CCTV and social media footage, his efforts were in vain. 

“Piggott was positively identified as one of those launching objects towards officers who had been dispatched to the area to protect the public.

“He will now spend a significant amount of time in prison and I hope he spends that time reflecting on his actions that day.

"To date, we have arrested 96, charged 60 and sentenced 43 people, and there will be many more to come. 

“We continue to identify more people who attended the disorder in Merseyside and we will not stop until we’ve put everyone we possibly can before the courts.”