Jailed mosque blaze pair ‘went on marches with EDL’

TWO men who set fire to a mosque met at Hester’s Way Library in Cheltenham and went on English Defence League marches together, a court was told.

Clive Ceronne, 37, and Ashley Juggins, 21, were former members of the controversial group before starting the blaze at Masjid-E-Noor in Ryecroft Street, Gloucester.

Gloucester Crown Court was told yesterday the pair had been driving around and shouting abuse at Muslims on the evening before the arson.

Ceronne was jailed for four-and-a-half years and Juggins for three-and-a-half after the pair pleaded guilty to arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered.

Juggins, of Brooklyn Road, in Cheltenham, poured petrol on the mosque’s steps before sparking a rag and setting it alight, causing £3,200 damage.

CCTV stills from the attack

The blaze came 27 days after the death of Drummer Lee Rigby, who was killed in Woolwich.

Prosecutor Peter Coombes said: “Ceronne used to work for P&L Security and was posted to Hester’s Way Library where they met.

“His previous employer said Juggins told people that Ceronne had taken him to an EDL rally and had expressed anti-Muslim views to his boss, but also said he had changed his views now.”

In mitigation, Dermot Clarke said Juggins was first introduced to the EDL marches four years ago, but had since stopped taking part.

Mr Clarke said: “He left after two years because, in his own words, he describes the meetings as degenerating into no more than throwing things at the police, however he remained in contact with Ceronne.

“I would be doing him a disservice if I did not mention the influence. He was unemployed, lacking sophistication and befriended by an older man that perhaps had an agenda.”

Since being remanded in prison, Juggins was said to have attended church three times a week.

The court was told Ceronne of Redwood Close in Gloucester had been the county’s divisional officer of the New British Union.

The group is said to be styled on Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists, which was banned in the 1940s, after it aligned itself with Nazi Germany.

On its website, Ceronne claimed to have been involved in “far right cults, including the EDL”.

Joe Maloney, for Ceronne, said: “He has had time to reflect on his beliefs, which is not to say he will change his beliefs, drastically over- night.”

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Gloucester mosque arson attack: Two men jailed

Two men have been jailed for an arson attack on a mosque in Gloucester.

Masjid-E-Noor mosque, Gloucester

Petrol was poured around the door of the Masjid-E-Noor mosque on Ryecroft Street and set on fire in June.

Ashley Juggins, 20, and Clive Ceronne, 37, previously admitted arson with reckless endangerment to life.

Ceronne and Juggins

Juggins, of Brooklyn Road, Cheltenham was sentenced to 42 months in prison, while Ceronne, of Gloucester was jailed for 54 months at Gloucester Crown Court.

The court was told the damage to the mosque had been minimal but that was due “more [to] luck than judgement”.

The attack happened days after an open day was held at the mosque to welcome local people.

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Men admit Gloucester mosque arson

“Two men have admitted an arson attack on a Gloucester mosque.

Clive Michael Ceronne, 37, and Ashley Henry Juggins, 20, both pleaded guilty to arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered.

The pair attempted to set fire to the Masjid-E-Noor in the city’s Ryecroft Street on June 18 this year.

Ceronne, a former security guard of Redwood Close, in Gloucester and Juggins, of Brooklyn Road in Cheltenham will be sentenced at Gloucester Crown Court on November 18.

The court previously heard the pair had bought lager, vodka and a petrol can of fuel from a London Road garage before using the fuel to set fire to the place of worship by owned by the Muslim Welfare Association.

A passer-by saw the fire and helped put it out, before severe damage was caused.

The attack came in the wake of the death of Drummer Lee Rigby.

The pair both denied a more serious charge of arson with intent to endanger life.

Prosecutor Peter Combe said this was acceptable to the crown when Juggins appeared via video link and Ceronne in the dock.

Judge Jamie Tabor QC ordered a pre-sentence report on the pair prior to their return to the same court next month.

He said: “You have both pleaded guilty to a very serious offence.

“I will however order a pre-sentence report, but I make it quite plain I am certainly not tying the hands of myself or anyone else by doing so.”

They were remanded in custody.” Link.

3CAFA previously ran this story in its early development exposing Ceronne’s links with the English Defence League and The New British Union (of fascists) here.

Courtesy of Twitter

Local fascist remanded after Gloucester mosque arson attack

Following on from an arson attack on a mosque in Gloucester on Tuesday morning, two local men have been charged with conspiracy to commit arson and remanded in custody. It’s interesting to note that Clive Ceronne, one of the accused, is a known far-right activist in the local area. He was previously involved with the Gloucester English Defence League ‘division’ as well as setting up and administrating the ‘South West Infidels’ Facebook page. Ceronne is also listed as the Gloucestershire ‘officer’ for the New British Union, you can find out more about him and his fellow fascists here.

Cheltenham man charged with mosque ‘hate crime’

A CHELTENHAM man has been charged with conspiracy to commit arson following a “hate crime” at a mosque.

Ashley Henry Juggins, 20, of Brooklyn Road will appear before magistrates today following the blaze in Gloucester.

Clive Michael Ceronne, 37, of 23 Redwood Close in Gloucester faces a similar charge after an attack on Masjid-E-Noor in Ryecroft Street in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

A number of mosques across the country have been targeted since Drummer Lee Rigby was killed in Woolwich last month.

Police confirmed yesterday it was being treated as a hate crime after CCTV appeared to show someone pouring petrol around the door and igniting it with a lit rag.

Officers initially believed a person could have been engulfed by the flames, but later stated no one was thought to be injured in the fire.

The fire left minimal damage to the place of worship’s doors after a Good Samaritan, believed to be a Polish taxi driver, leapt from his car and tackled the flames with a fire extinguisher.

Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue service confirmed flames were out when they arrived on the scene, just before 1am.

Since the attack police have been talking to the Muslim community in Cheltenham to allay fears. They have vowed to step up patrols around Gloucester’s mosques and said the two in Cheltenham were on current routes.

One Cheltenham Muslim, who only wanted to be identified as Mohamed, said any hate crime was sad for the community.

He said: “Many of us have been worried about reprisals since Lee Rigby, which was condemned by us all here in Cheltenham. Gloucestershire generally has a welcoming attitude to everyone and that is one of the reasons I live here. But something like this can make a community feel isolated.

“Personally the way to combat any kind of hate crime is by having a ‘business as usual’ approach and not being beaten, but it is tremendously hard when things like this happen.”

The Gloucester Muslim Welfare Association said in a statement: “The mosque will continue and remains committed to work towards promoting peace, tolerance and community cohesion across all sections of the community.”

Chief Inspector for Gloucester Richard Burge said: “Gloucestershire has a wonderfully diverse and welcoming community and people will be upset and angry about this.”

The pair who have now been charged were remanded in custody last night following their arrest.”

Updates

Cheltenham man in court on mosque attack

Terror march through Gloucester is cancelled

Courtesy of Twitter