Girl, 16, among five arrested over Nowak protests as three charged

Reuters

Three more men have been charged, and four men plus a teenage girl have been arrested following protests in Southampton after the murder of Henry Nowak.

Eleven police officers and a police dog were injured as missiles including wheelie bins and chairs were thrown in the city on Tuesday.

The protests erupted after police bodycam footage showing 18-year-old Nowak being placed in handcuffs was released after he had been stabbed by Vickrum Digwa, 23, who was jailed for life on Monday.

Hampshire police said Darren Medhurst, 36, and Jordan Hambleton,19, from Southampton, and Callum Darch, 27, from Romsey, have all been charged with violent disorder, bringing the total number of people charged to 14.

The three men most recently charged have been remanded into custody and are due to appear at Southampton Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

The force said four further men had been arrested on suspicion of violent disorder – three from Southampton aged 18, 34 and 45, along with a 41-year-old man from Basingstoke. They all remain in police custody.

A 16-year-old girl from the city, also arrested on suspicion of violent disorder, has been released on conditional police bail pending further inquiries.

Reuters

To date, eight men have pleaded guilty to violent disorder, with one also having a dog lead with a metal carabiner as an offensive weapon. One man has denied assaulting a police officer.

On Saturday, Harry Varney, 34, and Dillon Crawford, 29, of Southampton, Taylor Grundy, 22, of Gosport and Andrew Summerhayes, 38, of Romsey, appeared at Southampton Magistrates’ Court.

They all admitted violent disorder and Summerhayes also pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing an offensive weapon in a public place.

In a separate hearing, Kevin Reeves, 31, and Andrew Riddett, 38, both from Southampton entered no plea to charges of violent disorder.

Connor Bishop, 24 from Southampton and Reece Robinson, 21, and Noah Etherington, 18, from Havant admitted violent disorder during magistrates’ court hearings in Southampton and Portsmouth on Friday.

Daniel Frost, 44, of Southampton, pleaded guilty on Thursday to violent disorder and possessing a dog lead with a metal carabiner as an offensive weapon following the protests.

Also on Thursday, 50-year-old Matt Styler, of Gosport, pleaded not guilty to assaulting a police officer.

Nowak, from Chafford Hundred in Essex, was fatally stabbed in Southampton in December by Digwa, who falsely claimed he had been racially abused and had acted in self-defence.

Nowak was a first-year accountancy and finance student at the University of Southampton.

HM Courts & Tribunals Service