Hundreds of mourners turned out for the funeral of a rioter who killed himself in his jail cell while serving a two-year sentence over an asylum seeker hotel protest.
The 61-year-old grandfather, Peter Lynch, was found unresponsive in his cell at HMP Moorland on October 19.
He had been serving the jail time after pleading guilty to violent disorder and being part of unrest at the Holiday Inn Express in Manvers on August 4.
Those grieving Lynch’s passing gathered at Ardsley Crematorium near Bearnsley this morning as his family asked people to pay their respects.
Mr Lynch, of Burman Road, Wath-upon-Dearne, leaves behind four adult children and three grandchildren.
In footage of the funeral, onlookers stand by solemnly on the pavement as a hearse drives slowly past.
Some have taken to social media since the passing of Mr Lynch to express their condolences.
One person said: ‘A very sad day for his family and friends today as his funeral takes place, an innocent life lost all because he stood up to this tyrannical state and wanted the best for his country he so dearly loved.’
The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) launched an independent investigation shortly after Mr Lynch’s death.
During his sentencing on August 22, Lynch, who was called a ‘family man’, was said to have shouted ‘racist and provocative remarks’ towards police and called asylum seekers ‘child killers’.
The court also heard that the convicted, from Wath-upon-Dearne, Rotherham, had been married for 36 years, had four adult children and three grandchildren.
He was working in the packing industry but was recently made unemployed, the barrister said.
Mr Lynch was one of more than 50 men jailed at Sheffield Crown Court following the Rotherham rioting, which left 64 police officers injured, as well as four dogs and a horse.
Windows were also smashed in and asylum seekers feared for their lives as the mob, whipped up by rhetoric online, sought to storm the hotel.
Some scrawled aggressive graffiti on its walls, writing ‘scum’ and ‘get out England’ while others set bins alight and hurled them at hotel windows.
The riots were stoked as misinformation about the Southport stabbing suspect circulated online – claiming, falsely, that he was a Muslim asylum seeker and giving a fake name.
Mr Lynch had diabetes, thyroid issues and angina, and had suffered a heart attack shortly before his incarceration.
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