Shafaq News/ A British court sentenced a man to nine years in prison on Friday for deliberately setting fire to a hotel housing asylum seekers during anti-Muslim riots.

This is the longest sentence issued in connection with the recent unrest.

The defendant, Thomas Burley, 27, pleaded guilty to arson with the intent to endanger life after setting fire to a dumpster at the entrance of a hotel near Rotherham in northern England on August 4.

Prosecutor Alesha Kay stated that Burley added wood to an already burning dumpster placed at the hotel's entrance while staff and guests were sheltering inside.

Judge Jeremy Richardson sentenced Burley at Sheffield Crown Court, noting that his actions were "tainted with racism from beginning to end." Burley also admitted to violent disorder and possession of an offensive weapon.

Around 400 people targeted the hotel during days of rioting, marked by violence, looting, arson, and racist attacks. The unrest followed the killing of three girls in Southport on July 29, initially falsely blamed on Muslim migrants due to online misinformation.

Eighteen-year-old Axel Rudakobana, born in Cardiff, was charged with the murders.