His main reason for going to the protest was to see friends to show off his new “Turkey teeth”, a term for a popular cosmetic veneer treatment he had recently had done.
A carpet fitter claims he was jailed for two years for allegedly being “racially profiled” by police and the CPS after taking part in a protest during riots which broke out after the Southport murders.
Cameron Bowling, 41, was arrested after attending a protest against immigrants being housed in a hotel in Aldershot on July 31 last year. Bowling, said he joined the group of around 200 to protest about what they claimed was the proposed use of local housing for people arriving in the UK illegally.
Bowling says, “My mates were there and I thought I would go down and check it out. I’d had some new teeth in Turkey done so I wanted to show them off as well.” He admits banging on a window but says he allegedly left the gathering after just 17 minutes.
“Looking back, I think 100% I was racially profiled by police and the CPS”, he said. “People burning cars, attacking the police, throwing rocks and bricks, that’s a riot. Our event was just a protest. The police themselves said it was mostly “peaceful”.
Bowling added that during the court case many people had written references saying he was not a racist or a thug. He added: “I’m not a racist or anti-Islam, they wanted to label me as this, I have friends from all different cultures, I work for and with people from different cultures.”
“The first I knew about the police was when they phoned me in Ibiza. My bank cards then stopped working and when we landed back at Gatwick, I was arrested by four police officers, and they took me to Basingstoke.
Hampshire Police said the gathering was on the whole was “peaceful”, however objects were later thrown and the force said some in the crowd behaved in a “threatening way towards those staying inside the hotel”. An officer also sustained minor injuries as a result of what was called “mob-type” behaviour.
Three men, including Bowling, were later arrested and jailed after pleading guilty to violent disorder and other offences.
Mr Bowling admits “stupidly” banging on a window at the hotel and speaking to police officers, but he claims he allegedly left the area to go and get food with a friend before any riot police arrived.
He likens the scene to a football match, and says people inside the hotel were also “blowing kisses” and “waving” at protesters in a bid to taunt them.
He added that his main reason for going to the protest was to see friends to show off his new “Turkey Teeth”, a term for a popular cosmetic veneer treatment he had recently had done.
Just three weeks later he was sentenced to two years for violent disorder at Winchester Crown Court. Bowling, was released last week after serving just five months.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.