A teenager who sent a racially abusive tweet to Marcus Rashford following England’s defeat in the Euro 2020 final last year has been jailed.
19-year-old Justin Lee Price, from Worcester, has been jailed for six weeks after pleading guilty yesterday at Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court to “one count of sending a grossly offensive message by public communication network” aimed at the Manchester United and England footballer in the aftermath of England’s loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 final last July.
Price directed a slur at the 24-year-old striker after he missed a penalty in England’s shoot-out heartache against at Wembley last summer.
The court heard that after being arrested, the teenager initially denied the charges during a police interview, and even changed his name on Twitter to avoid detection – however he later admitted to posting the tweet when he was questioned by officers a second time.
Price’s solicitor said he was “ashamed and embarrassed” by his actions, but that living with a single-parent mother and only working two days a week left him with a lot of time on his hands.
As Price chose to plead guilty, his jail time was subsequently reduced.
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⚖️ A Worcester teenager has been jailed for racially abusing Marcus Rashford.
Justin Lee Price was sentenced to six weeks' immediate imprisonment today (30 March 2022) at Kidderminster Magistrates' Court.
— Crown Prosecution Service West Midlands (@CPSWestMids) March 30, 2022
The news on Price’s sentencing comes after another man was jailed in September 2021 for posting racist and insulting comments on his Facebook page about Rashford, and his fellow England teammates, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka, after they each missed penalties in the shoot-out which led to Italy’s win.
The abuse of the young players sparked widespread condemnation and led to an outpouring of support for the trio, and the news of Price’s sentence has been welcomed by a number of organisations in the football community, including leading equality and inclusion campaign Kick It Out.
“It is unacceptable that footballers continue to endure racist hate and abuse online, as well as in stadiums,” a Kick It Out spokesperson told Sky News.
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The Marcus Rashford mural in Withington was covered in messages of support after the Euro 2020 final / Credit: Flickr
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) says it is currently working with the police, clubs, player bodies and organisations, such as the Premier League and the Football Association (FA), to explain what evidence is required to charge racial abusers, and it hopes this will help protect players by ensuring “we have all the evidence we need to build the strongest case possible”.
Mark Johnson, senior Crown prosecutor for CPS West Midlands, said: “Price targeted a footballer based on the colour of his skin and his action was clearly racist and a hate crime.
“Those who racially abuse footballers ruin the game for all, and I hope this case sends out the message that we will not tolerate racism and offenders will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
Police appeal after thieves steal 800 barrels of Guinness from HGVs in Cheshire
Emily Sergeant
Police in Cheshire are appealing for information after more than 800 barrels of Guinness were stolen.
Cheshire Police explained that, at around 7:45pm on Monday 31 August, a lorry entered an industrial estate in the Aston Lane area of Runcorn. The lorry is then connected to a HGV trailer containing barrels of Guinness, before leaving the site at 7:55pm and driving in the direction of the Mersey Gateway.
Then, at 9:12pm, a second lorry arrived at the same site in a different lorry and connected it to another trailer containing barrels of Guinness. The lorry left the site at around 9:30pm, in the direction of Rainhill and Watkinson Way.
The estimated total value of all the items stolen is approximately £205,000, police confirmed.
According to police, the trailers are described as white Tri-Axle Curtain side trailers with GXO company branding on curtains and rear doors.
The trailers also have unique ID numbers on their rear doors in the top left corner – with the numbers of stolen trucks being DL736 or DL542.
Both HGVs were believed to have been driven by men. The first man is described as white with a short dark beard and wearing a beanie hat, and the second believed to be wearing a cap.
Officers are now appealing to anyone with any information, or dashcam and video footage taken from around the time of the incident, to come forward.
“It is famously said that ‘Guinness is good for you’, but that is only the case when it has been bought and paid for,” commented Detective Sergeant McClatchy, from Cheshire Police.
“It is with this in mind that we have wasted no time in launching enquires to identify those responsible for the theft of £115,000 worth Guinness and the two trailers that housed the barrels.
“We will settle for nothing less than the full recovery of all the items stolen.”
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Cheshire Police via its website, or by calling 101 and using incident reference number IML-2408641.
Featured Image – Volker Repke (via Unsplash)
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Police seize convoy of supercars after reports of dangerous driving on M62 near Rochdale
Emily Sergeant
A convoy of supercars has been seized by police following reports of dangerous driving on the M66 and M62 near Rochdale.
On Wednesday, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) says its dedicated Roads Policing Unit (RPU) were made aware that a group of individuals driving high-powered vehicles – such as Lamborghinis and Mercedes G-Wagons – were ‘driving dangerously’ at speed, weaving across lanes, wheel spinning, and slowing down to speeds of around 17mph on the motorway.
After finding the convoy of vehicles on the M62, police were able to stop two of Lamborghinis as they were coming off the motorway.
Officers then used specialist tactics to bring the remaining vehicles to a stop in Rochdale.
As a result of police intervention, GMP was able to seize five Lamborghinis and a Mercedes G-Wagon under Section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002, and on top of this, the drivers of the offending vehicles were prosecuted for a number of driving offences.
Police have seized a convoy of supercars after reports of dangerous driving on the M62 near Rochdale / Credit: GMP | Wikimedia Commons
Chief Inspector Danny Kabal, from GMP’s Transport Policing and Crime command, said the force takes road safety ‘very seriously’.
“We will not tolerate careless, inconsiderate, anti-social or dangerous driving on our roads,” he began.
“Recent changes to Section 59 of the Police Reform Act now enables us to seize vehicles without having to issue a warning first. As we intensify our road safety operations and enforcement campaigns, we will use this legislative change as part of our daily business.
“People who think it is acceptable to use our roads as a racetrack need to pay attention to this result and take it as a warning – they will have their vehicles seized and they will be prosecuted, and where proportionate to do so, they will also be arrested.”
Emily Sergeant -
31st March 2022 
