Rioting will not be tolerated by the courts. That has been the consistent message of the sentences passed over the last three years on people convicted of taking part in the Bradford riots. The nine-year prison sentence imposed yesterday on 23-year-old Kamran Ijaz, the longest passed on any rioter since violence erupted in the city in the summer of 2001, will reinforce that message.

There can be no doubt that Ijaz fully deserved a long term in prison for what Judge Roger Scott described as the worst case to come before the courts. He was caught on video in the forefront of the action for an hour and a half, hurling 14 missiles of various kinds, including two petrol bombs, at the police and helping to push burning cars into police lines, as well as running towards a fallen officer brandishing a steering lock.

It was appalling behaviour by a man with previous convictions for offences which included violent disorder and assault. His sentence should send out an important message to anyone else who might be tempted to run amok and challenge the law in this way.

That is particularly important at the present time, with violence erupting in various English towns and cities linked to Euro 2004 soccer. In some of them the police have found themselves facing drunken, violent mobs who have hurled stones and other missiles at them. One normally tranquil Yorkshire town awoke to the sight of two burned-out police cars in its central square.

Those who feel tempted to imitate this thuggish behaviour after future England matches should consider the fate of Kamran Ijaz and think again.