A rioter bitten on the backside by a police dog after yelling ‘I pay your wages’ at embattled officers wept in court today as he was sent to jail alongside his partner.

Ryan Sheers, 28, and his boyfriend Steven Mailen, 54, had spent the day at the bingo together before walking into the middle of the disorder in Hartlepool last week.

Today they were each jailed for two years and two months by a judge who told them the public were ‘rightly outraged by the behaviour seen on the streets’ of Britain.

The pair, both from the County Durham town, had pleaded guilty to a charge of violent disorder and had been warned to expect jail. But Sheers burst into tears when the length of the term was announced at Teesside Crown Court today.

Prosecutor Rachel Masters told the court that Sheers and Mailen were at the front of a crowd of people on July 31 goading a line of police officers with shields and batons as they were being pelted with bottles, bricks and cans of beer.

She said that over ten minutes, Mailen goaded officers and used gestures and language police felt were inciting the crowd to use violence against officers. Sheers was said to have continued shouting abuse and refused to step back when asked.

At that point he saw a ‘red mist’ and stepped in to defend Mailen. He was captured on video waving a finger at police officers and shouting at them: ‘I pay your wages.’

He also refused to step back and a police dog was deployed which latched itself onto his buttock, almost dragging off his shorts, which Ms Masters said ‘had the effect of dispersing the crowd’.

However in the melee as the dog had hold of Sheers, Mailen ran forward again and kicked a police constable repeatedly on the shins. It eventually took three officers to overpower and arrest him.

Explaining the course of events, Ms Masters said: ‘On the morning of July 31, Cleveland Police were alerted to a number of social media posts which were being circulated giving details of exact addresses which were address asylum seekers in the Hartlepool area.

‘The tenor was to encourage members of the public to attend a pre organised protest. As a result therefore the police set up a dedicated operation in an attempt to deal with the unrest which may ensue as a result.

‘At 6pm, CCTV operators in Hartlepool town centre identified that a group was gathering in the area of the Cenotaph. The group quickly grew in size and members of it were thought to be carrying England flags.’

Ms Masters told the court that the gathering, which had grown to 200 people by 8pm, started to attract trouble and officers were at the scene by this point.

She said: ‘CCTV footage and mobile phone evidence recovered showed these defendants as having being present and participating in the violence which occurred.’

Referring to Mailen’s involvement, Ms Masters said: ‘At approximately 8.20pm, police officer Morrison had been called to the Murray Street area of Hartlepool to deal with the escalating situation. By that stage, a large scale disturbance was underway.

‘Over the course of a period of ten minutes this defendant taunted and used gestures and language which the officer perceived to be enticing the crowd to use violence towards officers.

‘Mailen approached the officer gesticulating towards him shouting abuse. The officer warned the defendant a number of times to stop but it was clear he was refusing to do so.

‘The defendant was in the company of the defendant Sheers. The officer feared for his own safety but also that of his colleagues. As a result therefore he struck the defendant to the leg with an extendable baton. This caused the defendant to back away.’

The court heard the officer’s police dog then bit Sheers and afterwards Mailen attempted to grab the animal. He then also grabbed a radio which had become detached from the officer and tucked it under his arm.

PC Morrison then struck him again to the leg with the baton but Mailen kicked out ‘numerous times’ to the officer’s shins. The court heard it took three officers to restrain him.

Following his arrest, Mailen said he had been to the bingo with partner Sheers and on their home they went to a shop to buy more alcohol, when they came across the disorder.

Referring to Sheers’s role, Ms Masters told the court: ‘He was first spotted at the scene by police who had been deployed at the junction of Murray Street.

‘Both Mailen and Sheers tried to push through the cordon. Sheers shouted at officers and refused to move back. Sheers did not move back and as a result the police dog bit him on the right hip buttock area.’

Nigel Soppitt, defending, said that both men rejected far-Right ideology and as a same-sex couple in Hartlepool had been the subject of prejudice.

The pair got involved in the rioting, he said, after their post-bingo lager ran out and they left home to go to the local shop, discovering there were some 200 to 300 people out on the streets.

Speaking about Mailen, a care worker who is a former school governor and postmaster, Mr Soppitt said: ‘He has no time at all for far-Right ideology.

‘He is in a same sex relationship with Mr Sheers and has grown up in Hartlepool where they have suffered themselves a great deal of prejudice.’

Mr Soppitt added: ‘He realises prison must be imposed for the way he behaved on that night. It was lesser in severity than many of the incidents that took place around that time.

‘He’s a man who is in a gay relationship with Mr Sheers. They’ve grown up in Hartlepool and they’ve suffered a great deal of prejudice over the years.

‘He despises those on the far-Right. This is the last place he expected to find himself.’

He said that on his arrest Sheers immediately admitted to officers his behaviour had been ‘aggressive and disgusting’ and that he felt genuine remorse for his actions.

Cleveland Police Chief Constable Mark Webster sat in court throughout the proceedings flanked by some of his officers.

He issued a statement read by Ms Masters which said the damage caused in the rioting across the region had amounted to an estimated £300,000 with 16 officers reporting injuries in a list that was still growing.

He said: ‘As the Chief Constable of Cleveland I can attest the level of aggression and violence officers faced and the damage to the community and property is unprecedented.’

Some officers have had to cancel rest days and holidays, the court heard.

Judge Francis Laird KC said that Sheers and Mailen had been ‘at the very forefront of the mob’. He added: ‘You chose to take part in what was organised and large scale public disorder.

‘In that disorder police officers were attacked and there was large scale damage to property. Members of the public were forced to endure the devastation and chaos caused in their communities.

‘The public are rightly outraged by this behaviour on the streets of this country. For this scale of aggressive offending only a custodial sentence can be justified.’ 

In a statement after the sentencing, Christopher Atkinson, Senior District Crown Prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) North East, said: ‘The tough sentences handed out today should serve as a lesson for anyone considering taking part in this type of disorder across the North East.

‘This show of violence on the streets of Hartlepool has done nothing but instil fear in local residents and cause damage to local businesses.

‘I would like to praise the excellent work of Cleveland Police in dealing with this disorder. In addition to their brave response to a particularly difficult situation, they have also secured key evidence against multiple offenders which has assisted us greatly in building such robust cases against those involved.

‘We will continue to work closely with our police partners, responding swiftly and robustly to any activity which threatens the safety of the communities we serve.

‘Our message is clear: we stand ready to secure convictions and push for the strongest possible sentences against anyone involved in violent unrest.

‘The appalling scenes of violence like those seen in Hartlepool last week will not be tolerated. The CPS will continue to work swiftly alongside partners in the criminal justice system to haul anyone involved before the court to face the full consequences of their actions.’

The CPS added that hundreds of prosecutors have been working around the clock amid the UK-wide riots, ‘making rapid charging decisions so that suspects can be brought before the courts without delay’. 

And Cleveland Police Assistant Chief Constable David Felton said: ‘Over the last week officers have been faced with extremely challenging situations involving individuals who had nothing else in mind but the intent to cause violence.

‘Within seven days of the Hartlepool disorder those set on committing serious violence have been arrested, charged and now sentenced by the court. This sends a very firm message to anyone continuing to think of committing sheer violence.

‘Our investigation remains on going and I want to encourage members of the public to keep reporting information – no matter how small you think it might be.’