Wigan man jailed after throwing brick at officers during Southport disorder

A Wigan man who dismantled walls in Southport to launch at police deployed to protect the public has been jailed for two years, eight months.

Nicholas Mullen, 22 years, of Kingsley Avenue, Wigan was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday 3 April for violent disorder and assaulting an emergency worker. 

He was identified on CCTV throwing bricks towards a line of officers who were sent to Southport as disorder broke out on the streets on 30 July 2024.

Mullen was also captured on footage from a police helicopter and on camera phone footage taken by others engaged in disorder.

During one particularly shocking moment, a brick thrown by Mullen struck a police constable. During the disorder in Southport, the violent mob caused multiple injuries to officers, including fractures, broken jaws and lost teeth.

Mullen’s jailing brings the number sentenced for their role in the disorder in Southport and Liverpool to 130. They have been jailed for a total of 241 years, six months, with 191 arrested and 150 charged for their role in the violence visited upon communities in Merseyside.

Detective Sergeant Duncan Sloan said: “Mullen came to a community grieving the loss of three young girls just 24 hours earlier, still reeling from the awful events of 29 July.

“He came here with one clear intention: to cause chaos and destruction. His actions left rubble strewn in our streets, and a police officer deployed to protect our community in Southport was struck with a brick.

“Mullen will now have a considerable time in prison to consider his actions, and whether they furthered whatever cause he thought he was fighting for.

“We know that his actions and those of everyone who took to the streets to commit disorder that day caused nothing but fear, concern and distress to residents in the area.

“The disgusting scenes witnessed will not be tolerated and we advise anyone else who took part in the disorder to do the right thing and hand themselves in.”

Images and footage are still being worked through so please contact us with any information via our public portal mipp.police.uk or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. 

Latest galleries of people we would like to speak to can be found on our X and Facebook pages, and on our force website https://www.merseyside.police.uk/news/merseyside/news/2024/november/latest-cctv-appeal-following-disorder-in-merseyside-during-the-summer/