17 Aug 2011

Rioters will be made to clean up the wreckage

5:41 pm on 17 August 2011

The British government says people who took part in riots and looting last week will be made to clean up the neighbourhoods they wrecked, wearing distinctive orange clothing to highlight their involvement.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg says a riot payback scheme will be introduced, under which those found guilty would also have to meet the people whose business and homes were damaged or destroyed.

He also said the rioters might also be forced to face the victims so they can see the human cost of their actions.

Mr Clegg also announced an independent panel to hear from victims of the violence.

''It will serve as a way in which victims and communities can have their voice heard,'' he said in London.

Mr Clegg said the results would be published in six to nine months.

The riots began in Tottenham, north London, on Saturday 6 August and spread to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Nottingham, Gloucester and Bristol over four nights.

At one point on Monday, 8 August, there was trouble in 22 out of the 32 boroughs in London.

Prison sentences

Two men have been jailed for four years each for using Facebook to incite disorder during the riots.

The Recorder of Chester, Judge Elgan Edwards said he hoped the sentences would act as a deterrent to others.

The Crown Prosecution Service said one of the men had created a Facebook event called Smash down in Northwich Town.