A 12-year-old youngster who participated in two different riots said, "I want to say sorry," to the court as he accepted a referral order that included close supervision.
His mother claimed, "It wasn't put to me how much I actually needed to be there," adding that she had assumed her son, who was with his uncle that day, would be able to go with another suitable adult. The mother had been on vacation in Ibiza the week before her son's sentencing.

Presenting with her son at Manchester magistrates court, the mother informed district judge Joanne Hirst that her vacation had come at a cost of £1,000.

The court heard that the boy, who cannot be named because of his age, was involved in two separate incidents of disorder in Manchester city centre, on 31 July and 3 August.

Manchester magistrates court, sitting as a youth court, heard in the first incident the boy was involved in a group who were targeting a Holiday Inn hotel housing asylum seekers.

The boy had ridden his bike in front of a bus, causing it to stop. The bus had then been set upon by the mob, who smashed a window and assaulted the driver, who later had to seek treatment at a hospital.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, the driver said: “It has left me scared to deal with members of the public, because I never imagined an incident like this happening.”

In various pieces of footage played to the court by Hannah Nicholls, prosecuting, the boy was seen riding in front of the bus and later kicking towards it, as well as handing a rock to another person involved in the disorder.

An asylum seeker travelling on the bus to the hotel said he had “come to this country to feel safe, but since this incident I do not feel safe any more”.

In the second incident, the boy was filmed as part of a group who stormed a Sainsbury’s supermarket, and was filmed knocking over shelves. He was also filmed as part of a mob kicking the window of a vape shop.

Catherine Baird, defending, said the boy did not fully understand what he had been caught up in, telling the court: “This is a child who should not have been there, who got wrapped up in the moment acting recklessly and impulsively.”

She said he had been swept up by the influence of others, many of whom were adults.

The boy, who has a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), told the court that when he was caught up in the disorder he “thought it was funny”, adding: “But now it’s horrible.” He said on Wednesday he was “worried that I might get jailed”.

The boy told the court that he did not know what an asylum seeker was, and said: “I wouldn’t know what exactly to say, but I want to say sorry.”

Hirst told the youngster he had engaged in "the worst type of feral behavior in our country" and that if he had been an adult, he could have faced up to five years in prison. Instead, he was sentenced to a 12-month referral order.

She acknowledged that the youngster did not fully comprehend the events of the day, but he was aware that what he was doing was wrong.

"I'm going to give you a chance, but please know that this is probably the biggest chance you will ever get," she said to the youngster.