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Nottingham mosque pork attack pair sentenced

Two men admit religiously motivated attack on mosque

Two men have admitted religiously aggravated offences after pork was smeared on the door of a mosque.

Jamie Mullins, 28, admitted criminal damage to the Al-Quba Masjid mosque while he and Matthew Sarsfield both admitted causing alarm or distress.

Nottingham Magistrates' Court heard they had watched an English boxer and were "feeling patriotic".

Sarsfield was fined £115, and Mullins was given 40 hours of unpaid work and a 10-day rehabilitation requirement.

News imageJamie Mullins (l) and Matthew Sarsfield
Jamie Mullins (left) and Matthew Sarsfield were told their actions were "far from civilised"

The court was shown CCTV from the early hours of 18 June, when Mullins, of Palmerston Gardens, Nottingham, approached the building on Valley Road, Nottingham.

He then smeared pork sausage meat on the lock of the prayer room door.

Mullins and Sarsfield, 31, of Sherbrook Road in Daybrook, Nottingham, then draped a St George's flag over a flower display nearby before taking selfies.

The court heard a statement from Dr Mughal, chair of the mosque's committee, who said he felt "very upset and insecure when I come to the centre".

Sarsfield addressed the magistrates himself, saying he would never harass someone intentionally and that he was "deeply sorry".

Chairman of the bench Paul Ensor branded them both "idiots" and told Mullins: "Your behaviour was stupid, reprehensible and not acceptable in a civilised society."