Six more charged with violent disorder after Nowak protest

Six charged with violent disorder after Nowak protest

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Protests on Tuesday night saw police and protesters clash in Southampton

PA Media police and protestors clashing in Southampton during a protest following the death of Henry Nowak. — Protests on Tuesday night saw police and protesters clash in Southampton

Six more men have been charged following protests held in Southampton after the murder of Henry Nowak.

Hampshire Police said the men, aged in their 20s and 30s – four from Southampton, one from Gosport and Romsey – were charged following violent disorder in the city on Tuesday night.

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

All six have been remanded in custody and are due to appear at Southampton Magistrates’ Court later. This brings the total number of people charged following the protests to 11.

The following five men have been now been charged with violent disorder:

Kevin Reeves, 31, of Portswood Road, Southampton
Andrew Riddett, 38, of Seacombe Green, Southampton
Harry Varney, 34, of Briarswood, Southampton
Taylor Grundy, 22, of Pavillion Way, Gosport
Dillon Crawford, 29, of Wilton Avenue, Southampton

A sixth man, Andrew Summerhayes, 38, of Banning Street, Romsey, has been charged with violent disorder and two counts of possessing an offensive weapon in a public place.

Three men pleaded guilty to violent disorder on Friday.

Connor Bishop, 24, Reece Robinson, 21, and Noah Etherington, 18, all admitted to the charge during magistrates’ court hearings in Southampton and Portsmouth.

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, a second man, 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.