Colchester Ex-Solider Denies Riot Charge

A former soldier, from Colchester, accused of posting "Anyone want to start a riot?" on BlackBerry Messenger at the height of the disorder in the UK has denied trying to incite a crime.

Tommy Tucker, 20, of Mareth Road, had been remanded in custody since September after being accused of encouraging the commission of an indictable offence between August 7th and 10th.

The charge came after he allegedly wrote: "Anyone want to start a riot in Colchester? 100pc serious."

In a later message he is accused of writing: "Apple shop in town is on fire - Colchester has started."

The message was sent to 157 people, made up mostly of school friends and fellow servicemen and women.

No trouble resulted from the message.

He denied the offence at Chelmsford Crown Court on Monday (7th November) and was released on bail on a number of conditions, including not accessing social networking sites.

A three-day trial is expected to take place in the week beginning January 9.