‘It was like medieval times’ says Richard Brixley as he fixes up his Harley Davidson Ultra Classic on his front drive, ‘someone had a flaming fence panel, they were blocking the road up at each end with riot vans, my partner was in the house terrified’.
The events the biker is describing unfolded last week on the Leigh Park housing estate in Havant, just outside Portsmouth in Hampshire.
Hours earlier, a vigilante ‘paedo hunter’ group known as Protecting Pompeys Innocent had begun a Facebook live stream confronting a man they accused of talking to a girl online he believed was 14-years-old.
That ‘girl’ was in fact a decoy from a group called the Child Online Safety Team. After the man allegedly sent a series of sickening messages to the ‘girl’, a group were sent in to confront him.
As news spread of the sting, hundreds of protesters, some allegedly travelling from miles away, swarmed onto Leigh Park – what happened next on the quiet estate once dubbed the largest council estate in Europe was shocking.
As police battled to keep the peace, parents jeered and cheered as their own children threw missiles at officers and tore down fences.
One resident recalled how terrifying it was: ‘It was like a proper riot, quite scary, all the shouting, there were kids pulling a fence down and their parents egging ’em on.
‘I understand people wanting to watch but don’t bring your children!’
Earlier this week a quiet Hampshire estate was plunged into abject chaos when a paedophile sting escalated
In shocking footage posted online, crowds clashed with officers as armed police with riot shields took a 38-year-old man into custody
Officers lined up and formed barricades, with the rioters appearing to launch projectiles in their direction
The sting that started the fire had been organised by vigilante group the Child Online Safety Team
Biker Richard Brixley was there that night and told MailOnline it was positively ‘medieval’
By the end of the evening a full-scale riot had left an 80-year-old blind man in hospital having allegedly had a brick thrown at him through a glass window, a house had been smashed up, fence panels ripped off, a dispersal order placed on the area and a man arrested on suspicion of engaging in sexual communication with a child.
Lee Comley, 38, of Middle Park Way, was later charged with arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence.
He appeared at Portsmouth Magistrates Court last week where he was remanded in custody. He will appear at Portsmouth Crown Court on 4th August.
In the wake of the chaos, residents have spoken to MailOnline about the violence and the 21st century phenomena of online vigilante paedophile hunters taking the law into their own hands.
‘I used to see him every night out walking his dog, he kept himself to himself’, one lady, who did not want to be named, told MailOnline.
She was at home scrolling through Facebook that night when she saw a live stream of a paedo hunter sting gathering thousands of views. To her horror, it was her neighbour a few doors down.
The sting team had called in the police to arrest their suspect at around 7.38pm. But as anger grew online, crowds began arriving onto Middle Park Way – officers were quickly met with a large and increasingly angry mob.
As chants of ‘paedo, paedo’ were screamed by the mob, missiles were hurled at police as the epicentre of the riot focused on a house on the green at the junction of Locksheath Close and Middle Park Way.
Richard Brixley explained: ‘I heard people were travelling from Paulsgrove in Portsmouth to take part in the riot, you couldn’t park on this road, they were going down the back of the houses to get to the guy’s house, they were ripping my fence panels for stuff to throw at police.’
With the situation turning violent and dangerous, Hampshire Constabulary were forced to deploy dozens of riot police brandishing shields who stormed the estate to hold back the crowds which by then numbered at least ‘1,000’ people, mainly in the ’18-25 age group’, as one woman claimed.
PJ, who has lived on Leigh Park his whole life, had been in his flat watching the movie ‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’ when he went outside to watch the chaos unfold from his doorstep.
‘I’ve never seen it like this’, the 33-year-old said, adding: ‘There was riot police out here, there were kids shouting ‘nonce, nonce’, there were people all over the field.’
As crowds began arriving onto Middle Park Way – officers were quickly met with a large and increasingly angry mob
As chants of ‘paedo, paedo’ were screamed by the mob, missiles were hurled at police
With the situation turning violent and dangerous, Hampshire Constabulary were forced to deploy dozens of riot police brandishing shields
Video shows how rioters hurled bricks, fence panels and anything they could find at police as officers smashed back the crowds to try and bring the carnage under control.
The alleged property of the suspect, which had multiple flats in, had had its door smashed in and windows pelted with bricks. Rioters were seen trying to start fires while a man brandished a flaming torch fashioned from a fence panel.
Amid the chaos, a blind 80-year-old man was struck by a flying brick and rushed to hospital, kids as young as ‘twelve’ were spotted taking part in the anarchy.
‘They were just chucking things at the police, it was the kids, they were just out to cause trouble, there was literally thousands’ says one homeowner who lives across the road from where the violence unfolded.
Innocent residents were unsurprisingly caught in the crossfire.
‘They was chucking boulders at mum’s greenhouse’ says Toni, who lives just off the green, ‘they were hurling anything at the man’s front door’.
She added: ‘Mum was absolutely terrified, you couldn’t see the grass through people, the riot police with their shields.’
While many locals told MailOnline they understood the anger – the violence was totally out of order.
‘I understand the cause. As much as I appreciate the severity of the situation it seemed to do more damage and stress to the people that live here’, said Richard Brixley.
He added: ‘It was quite a traumatic experience for the kids who live here, there were kids being brought to a riot.’
It remains boarded up today following the intense rioting earlier in the week
Toni agreed, adding: ‘What I don’t understand is that the guy was accused of being a predator but people were bringing their kids up here? Kids were shouting nonce.
‘Why take children to get out a paedophile!? Morals, yes, brains, zero!’
While another mum said: ‘I have three kids and kept them inside, anyone who brought their kids is vile.’
The riot was brought to an end shortly after 10pm.
So-called paedophile hunter groups operate without official endorsement from the police, they are run by volunteers.
The activity first rose to prominence following the release of the 2014 Channel 4 documentary ‘The Paedophile Hunter’ which followed a British vigilante called Stinson Hunter.
Mr Hunter, who worked alongside a team based out of Nuneaton in the West Midlands, would snare paedophiles online while posing as underage children.
The group would organise a meetup with a suspect where they would film the encounter and post it on Facebook. They achieved dozens of convictions.
But the work has courted controversy in recent years following the suicides of several men accused by vigilante groups of being child predators.
Dad-of-four Adrian Smith, 48, died in February just hours after being accused by an online group of sending sexually explicit messages to someone he was said to believe was a 14-year-old girl.
He was released on bail by Avon and Somerset Police but later found dead after throwing himself off a bridge onto the M4 motorway.
FUSE UK, the hunter group behind Mr Smith’s sting, took the video down after hearing of his death to ‘allow his family to grieve’ but did not apologise.
On February 21, Adrian Smith walked to the M4 motorway and threw himself off a motorway bridge before he was hit by several passing vehicles. Just hours earlier he had been released on bail by Avon and Somerset Police following his arrest after he was confronted by online paedophile hunters at his doorstep
The group alleged that Smith (pictured) sent sexually explicit pictures and messages to an online paedophile hunter posing as a 14-year-old girl
Despite the controversy surrounding some of vigilante groups’ work, data reveals the number of convictions thanks to evidence provided by these groups have skyrocketed.
In a statement, Protecting Pompeys Innocent condemned Tuesday night’s violence at Leigh Park, saying it puts their work in jeopardy.
They explained: ‘We do not condone in anyway whatsoever violence or disorder. People who cause such issues when stings happen risk the police and government trying to shut groups down.
‘If you see a sting taking place feel free to watch etc but it’s come to my attention people throwing bricks towards the pred and they’ve ended up hitting police etc.’
Chief Inspector of Havant and East Hampshire districts, Alex Charge, said Tuesday’s violence was ‘completely unacceptable’.
He said: ‘As a police service we are committed to protecting vulnerable people – that includes children, and we know that the community feel very passionately about this also.
‘Disorder as was seen last night will not be tolerated – it can cause real fear for residents, damage property and seriously impede our police officers who are working really hard to carry out their duties, make arrests and keep people safe.
‘Officers attended quickly and robustly last night but were confronted by a group of people acting aggressively, including some who were throwing objects at police.
‘This is completely unacceptable and puts our officers at risk of harm when they are there to protect you – our community.
‘Our investigation into the report of sexual communication with a child remains ongoing and we have a man in custody. In addition to this, any further offences identified linked to last night’s disorder will be investigated and dealt with appropriately.’
For confidential support, call Samaritans on 116 123, visit samaritans.org or visit https://www.thecalmzone.net/get-support
