Shocking footage shows the mother of five falling vertically as she shoves a burning bin at police during “unprecedented” riots in the city centre.
Stacey Bint, 34, received sudden karma after her bin nearly hit a police officer with a riot shield in Middlesbrough. Her unfortunate fall was captured on camera and shared widely on social media before she was sentenced to 20 months in prison today.
Meanwhile, another woman, Leanne Hodgson, 43, from Sunderland, was jailed today for deliberately ramming a bin at a police officer in Sunderland and then swearing at him. She will be locked up for the next two and a half years.
Last week in Middlesbrough, around 1,000 people took to the streets in a “peaceful” protest that turned into rioting, leaving a police officer injured, more than £300,000 in damage caused and whole communities living in fear. It was one of several protest marches around the country that turned ugly.
But this week thugs were hauled before courts across the country as courts cracked down on shocking acts of violence. Vint was arrested at the scene and charged with violent assault as well as a felony count of possessing cannabis. The mother pleaded guilty to both charges at Teesside Crown Court today.
The footage, which was played to the judge twice, was taken during a heated march in Middlesbrough on Sunday, August 4, which then turned violent with people trying to break through police lines and attacking officers.
In passing sentence, Judge Francis Laird KC accepted Vint’s attack was not racially motivated. He said: “It will take a long time to repair the impact on people and their community. The Middlesbrough community and the wider public are rightly outraged by this behaviour.”
Vint, of Southbank, Middlesbrough, had been drinking on the day of the offence, the court heard. Prosecutor Rachel Masters said: “The footage itself is a very short video clip which shows the defendant pushing a burning van towards police officers.
The defendant was arrested at the scene and found in possession of a small amount of cannabis… Initially the march was peaceful but officers eventually heard shouts of ‘take our country back’,” they said in a shock statement.
Sergeant Mark Webster, of Cleveland Police, said: “People have real fears for their own safety in the communities they have always lived in… The level of hatred, bile and violence directed at police officers is unprecedented. “Determined attempts were made to inflict serious injury on police officers.”
The court heard that eight police officers reported injuries during the Middlesbrough riots, but many more were hit by rockets and 14 police vehicles were damaged beyond repair, worth £90,000. A further £5,000 damage was caused to police vehicles which remained in service. Damage to property occurred in 150 instances, including at universities and courthouses. The total cost is estimated at around £300,000.
Windows and cars were damaged in some residential areas, and children were found in living rooms of homes with smashed windows.
Meanwhile, during riots in Sunderland on August 2, Hodgson, 43, deliberately ran into a police officer before calling another a “fucking nigger”. Newcastle Crown Court heard that when police saw her earlier in the evening, she was “clearly under the influence of alcohol and was swearing at officers”.
Footage from the night shows Hodgson running up and attempting to roll a large bin towards police. But rather than hitting the startled officers, the container rolled uncontrollably, coming to a stop just metres away. Two men then retrieved it, but again the bin was out of reach to them. In the video, a bystander can be heard saying, “I don’t know where she always finds these bins.”
The officer then described how Hodgson “ran straight towards him and crashed into him,” which he said was “clearly a premeditated act,” and that when he saw her afterwards, she “laughed and pointed at him.”
The former flight attendant was identified by police from videos on social media. She was seen pushing an industrial bin towards police, picking up glass bottles and making gestures as if she was going to throw them at officers, as well as breaking a brick that had fallen to the ground and throwing it into the crowd to use as a projectile. The court heard that she also threw objects at a parked police vehicle, breaking its windscreen.
After Hodgson was arrested the following day, police learned she had previously tried to buy a balaclava at the post office. In mitigating circumstances, the court said she “has mental health issues exacerbated by alcohol problems” and is “ashamed of her behaviour”.
Hodgson has six convictions for 11 offences, including a July 2023 offence for refusing to provide a sample. Most of the convictions relate to traffic offences, the court said. She was convicted of assault.