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Scottish man jailed for racially-motivated offences during Belfast riots

PSNI a police mugshot of a man with short red hair and a beard, wearing a grey sweatshirt over a red which at blue checked shirt. He has his eyes closedPSNI
Reece Dunnett was sentenced to 27 months for rioting and criminal damage

A 25-year-old Scottish man has been jailed for racially-motivated "violent disorder" linked to rioting in Belfast during the summer of 2024.

Reece Dunnett, from Dunfermline in Fife, pleaded guilty to rioting and criminal damage offences at Laganside Crown Court on Friday.

He received a 27-month sentence - half of which to be spent in prison and half on licence after his release.

Dunnett committed the offences after trouble arose in the Sandy Row and Donegall Road areas of south Belfast on 3 August 2024.

It came as anti-immigration and anti-racism protesters faced off in tense scenes outside the city hall.

PA Media People lifting furniture outside a business and smashing windows with itPA Media
The rioting involved businesses being attacked during racially-motivated attacks throughout Belfast

A spokesman for the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said: "He was observed helping a crowd pull down the fence to a building site in Blythe Street before collecting multiple pieces of masonry and a scaffold plank which he threw at police lines from a short distance.

"Dunnett also assisted a crowd with helping to overturn two vehicles in Wellwood Street before they were set alight in the middle of the road by others."

The rioting saw police being attacked as well as businesses being burnt during racially-motivated attacks throughout Belfast.

The police spokesman added: "The Police Service of Northern Ireland will ensure that anyone who chooses to take part in this type of criminality is brought to justice, just as Dunnett has been."