Two men have been sentenced to four years in prison for attempting to incite riots using Facebook.
Jordan Blackshaw, 21, from Northwich, and Perry Sutcliffe-Keenan, 22, from Warrington, were jailed at Chester crown court on Tuesday.
The men had posted messages to the social network in an attempt to spread disorder that hit London and other cities in the UK last week.
The court heard how police found a Facebook page titled "Smash Down Northwich Town", created by Blackshaw.
Sutcliffe-Keenan set up a page to encourage rioting in Warrington called "Let's Have a Riot in Latchford".
Neither of the men were successful, but the recorder of Chester, Elgin Edwards, said he hoped the sentences would act as a deterrent.
The Crown Prosecution Service defended the sentences, and said that the men had caused "significant panic and revulsion".
“They both used Facebook to organise and orchestrate serious disorder at a time when such incidents were taking place in other parts of the country. Both defendants, in Northwich and Warrington respectively, sought to gain widespread support in order to replicate similar criminality.
"In investigating these cases, the Cheshire Constabulary acted very swiftly and effectively to close down these websites and to ensure that there was no actual participation in the planned events. Nevertheless, these posts caused significant panic and revulsion in local communities as rumours of anticipated violence spread.
“The Crown Prosecution Service worked very closely with the police and Cheshire Crown Court to bring forward preliminary hearing dates that had initially been listed on 19th September. We were able to serve upon the defence in both cases sufficient case material that led to early guilty pleas and we were able to present the facts in both cases in a fair but robust manner."
Assistant Chief Constable Phil Thompson added that the men had 'struck fear into the hearts of communities'.
Thompson said: "If we cast our minds back just a few days to last week and recall the way in which technology was used to spread incitement and bring people together to commit acts of criminality, it is easy to understand the four year sentences that were handed down in court today.
"In Cheshire, we quickly recognised the impact of the situation on our communities and the way in which social media was being used to promote and incite behaviour that would strike fear in to the hearts of our communities.
"From the offset, Cheshire constabulary adopted a robust policing approach using the information coming into the organisation to move quickly and effectively against any person whose behaviour was likely to encourage criminality. Officers took swift action against those people who have been using Facebook and other social media sites to incite disorder.
"The sentences passed down today recognise how technology can be abused to incite criminal activity, and send a strong message to potential troublemakers about the extent to which ordinary people value safety and order in their lives and their communities."