Four yobs who left passengers vomiting blood and gasping for air after spraying tear gas at Heathrow Airport are jailed

FOUR yobs who left passengers vomiting blood after spraying tear gas at Heathrow Airport have been jailed. Anton Clarke-Butcher, 25, Tyrone Richards, 31, Omoneke Whyte, 31, and 29-year-old Denzel Eduardo injured 21 holidaymakers in the horror. Passengers were left vomiting blood in the horror Credit: PA Tyrone Richards was today jailed over the attack Credit: Central News Three of the thugs, who were wearing face coverings and dark clothing, sprayed the substance into a lift at an airport car park. Two women and two men who met them after their flight from Johannesburg were in the elevator at the time. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! They were then followed by the defendants and had their suitcases stolen. Meanwhile, the CS spray was released from the lift and spread through the entrance to Terminal 3 – including at a nearby Caffe Nero. A barista began coughing and vomiting blood shortly after being exposed to the substance. Others were taken to hospital for treatment, while some passengers reported feeling dizzy and struggled to breathe. The attack on December 7 last year sparked widespread delays after Terminal 3 was closed. Richards, Clarke-Butcher, Whyte and Eduardo pleaded guilty to affray at Isleworth Crown Court. Most read in The Sun Anton Clarke-Butcher was among the four men jailed Credit: Central News Omoneke Whyte was also locked up Credit: Central News Sentencing the gang today, Judge Kwame Inyundo said: “Individuals were targeted by you as a group and the violence used in the incident was serious and sustained.” Richards was jailed for 27 months, while White and Eduardo were each jailed for 23 months. Clarke-Butcher was sentenced to 21 months’ imprisonment. Prosecutor Gary Rutter said he “could not say exactly what led to this incident”, but “one may suspect what was going on”. He added that the incident left “members of the public, coughing, vomiting, and some vomited blood”. The barista at Caffè Nero, who started to cough and vomit blood, told the court she was “scared” as she “felt fine one minute and then almost instantly unwell”. A gun cop can be seen following the attack Credit: Reuters Denzel Eduardo was among the group locked up today Credit: Central News A customer service agent said the incident was “terrifying”, adding she “felt dizzy and like I was going to pass out”. She also told how a woman in a wheelchair she was assisting “was struggling to breathe and using an inhaler”. A mum who arrived from a flight from South Africa with her 14-month-old son said her child started to cough, telling the court: “I was immediately afraid for my baby’s safety and my own safety”. While a man who was ordering a taxi from the airport’s car park said “20 to 30 people were all coughing” after the incident and he was “struggling to breathe”. Richards was arrested while still at the airport and the other three defendants were later identified and arrested separately. Genevieve Moss, representing Eduardo, said the CS gas “was discharged by the rival group”, adding that he has asthma and this would have had a “dangerous impact on him”. The lawyer said Eduardo, who has 12 previous convictions for 18 offences, would have “not agreed to take part in any activity involving such a substance” and expressed “deep remorse”. Rushnay Sikander, representing Whyte, said he was “very remorseful”, adding he had a “traumatic childhood” including his father being murdered when he was five years old and that he had been the victim of three separate stabbings. Shanda McAteer, representing Clarke-Butcher, who has 14 convictions for 31 offences, said he denied releasing the gas and “genuinely expresses remorse”. Patrick Harte, representing Richards, who has three previous convictions, said he was “not present when the first spray was released” and was “sorry to innocent bystanders suffering anguish”.