A drama student who has problems sleeping on a prison bed has had his sentence reduced by half. The student, Joshua Penney, aged 17, was found guilty of stealing a bottle of alcohol from the Sainsbury’s supermarket during the Manchester riots and had been sentenced to eight months in jail. Speaking at his appeal he said that he is sleeping for just a few hours every night and has been suffering extreme anxiety. Penney said that the news coverage showing the destruction caused by the riots had filled him with remorse and made him feel like scum. Speaking about the length of sentence handed to Penney, Judge Michael Henshell said, the court is of the opinion that eight months was too long and that the case should not have been dealt with by a referral order. He added that four months detention and training would have been a fair sentence. There were more than 100 people arrested during the August riots in Manchester.
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