Two men in North West England have been sentenced to four years in prison for using Facebook to incite others to riot, although neither man's actions resulted in any rioting.

Jordan Blackshaw, 20, and Perry Sutcliffe-Keenan, 22, were sentenced at Chester Crown Court yesterday, a week after mob violence struck many parts of the U.K. The riots and looting had prompted prime minister David Cameron to say that those "using social media for violence" had to be stopped.

"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," assistant chief constable Phil Thompson of the Cheshire Constabulary said in a statement.

Read more of "Facebook riot posts lead to four-year jail terms" at ZDNet UK.