Bikers found guilty on airport brawl
Members of two biker gangs have been warned to expect lengthy prison sentences after being found guilty of riot following a mass brawl at Birmingham Airport.
Members of two biker gangs have been warned to expect lengthy prison sentences after being found guilty of riot following a mass brawl at Birmingham Airport.
Twelve men, including several from the Black Country, were involved in a four-week trial costing £2 million after a fight involving up to 30 people on January 20 last year. Yesterday, eight of them were convicted at Birmingham Crown Court. Three were cleared.
Members of rival gangs the Outlaws and the Hell's Angels, armed with knives, a machete and other weapons, battled inside the terminal building at the airport. Three men were injured and taken to hospital at the time, one of whom was seriously hurt after being hit on the head.
Four of those convicted are Outlaw members. The other four are known to be Hell's Angels.
All had denied a charge of riot and an alternative count of violent disorder.
Violence erupted after some gang members of the Outlaws and Hell's Angels flew home from Alicante, in Spain, where it is believed the Outlaws were trying to set up a chapter on Hell's Angels territory. Police found a number of weapons near the scene after the brawl, including three hammers, three knives, a machete and knuckledusters, as well as a meat cleaver.
CCTV footage showed a linkway joining the two airport terminals, close to where passengers emerge after clearing customs.
In some frames, terrified travellers could be seen wheeling their suitcases just yards from where the brawl unfolded.
Other shots showed bikers grappling in the concourse.
Hell's Angels awaiting sentence for riot on June 19 by Judge Patrick Thomas are Leonard Hawthorne, aged 52, of Penn Road, Wolverhampton; Sean Timmins, aged 38, of Brewood Road, Coven; Mark Larner, aged 47, of Tudor Road, Upper Gornal, and Paul Arlett, aged 35, of Cradley Road, Dudley.
The jury could not reach a verdict for Kevin Timmins, aged 29, of High Street, Sedgley, who may face a retrial.
Outlaws convicted of riot were Jeremy Ball, aged 46, of Plant Street, Cheadle; Mark Price, aged 50, of Westbury Road, Nuneaton; Mark Moseley, aged 46, of Orchard Rise, Yardley, Birmingham, and Neale Harrison, aged 46, of Bell Green Road, Coventry.
Those found not guilty were Marc Wilden, aged 44, of Church Close, Coventry; Robert Haywood, 46, of Stanton Road, Burton upon Trent, and Maurice Ison, 52, of Sackville Street, Stoke-on-Trent.
