Five charged after Brighton seafront march and protest

Five people have been charged after the March for England event and counter-protest in Brighton yesterday (Sunday 21 April).

Sussex Police said that three people were given fixed penalty notices, three were cautioned and six were released on bail while investigations continue.

Three people were released without charge and face no further action.

Twenty people were arrested in total after the seafront march, eight of them from Brighton and Hove.

The five people who have been charged are

• Steven Sands, 45, self-employed, of Tisbury Road, Hove, who has been bailed to appear at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 9 May charged with affray
• Ben Lindsay, 22, a student, of Milton Road, Southampton, who has been bailed to appear at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 2 May charged with using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with the intention of causing a fear of or provoking unlawful violence
• Dominic Langford, 19, unemployed, of Rhiw’r Ddar, Taffs Wells, Cardiff, has been bailed to appear at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 2 May charged with using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with the intention of causing a fear of or provoking unlawful violence
• Mark McCourt, 44, unemployed, of Park Road, Crowborough, has been bailed to appear at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 9 May charged with affray and assaulting a police officer in the execution of his duty
• Samuel Potter, 23, occupation and address not given, has been bailed to appear at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 9 May charged with wilfully obstructing a highway

Three people received on-the-spot fines – or fixed penalty notices. They were

• A 45-year-old man from Brighton who was arrested on suspicion of committing a public order offence which involved shouting abuse although he faces no further action over an allegation of attempted theft
• A 35-year-old man from Hove who was arrested on suspicion of disorder
• A 28-year-old man from Cirencester in Gloucestershire who was arrested on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly

The three people who were cautioned were

• A 45-year-old man from Dartford in Kent who was arrested on suspicion of having an offensive weapon in the form of a canister of spray
• A 23-year-old woman, no address given, was cautioned for affray
• A 29-year-old man, no addresses given, was cautioned for affray

Six people bailed were released on police bail while officers continue their investigations. They are

• An 18-year-old man from Brighton who was bailed until Wednesday 17 July after being arrested on suspicion of breaching public order
• A 20-year-old man, both from Brighton who was bailed until Wednesday 17 July after being arrested on suspicion of breaching public order
• A 25-year-old man from Brighton who was bailed until Thursday 18 July after being arrested on suspicion of breaching public order
• A 22-year-old man, no address given who was bailed until Wednesday 17 July after being arrested on suspicion of assault causing actual bodily harm (ABH)
• A 31-year-old woman from London who was bailed until Wednesday 17 July after being arrested on suspicion of assault causing ABH
• A 62-year-old man from London who was bailed until Wednesday 17 July after being arrested on suspicion of affray

Three people were released without charge and face no further action. They are

• A 27-year-old man from Brighton who was arrested on suspicion of having an offensive weapon
• A 33-year-old man from Portslade who was arrested on suspicion of breaching the peace
• A 25-year-old man, no address given, who was arrested on suspicion of assault causing ABH