Police hunt arsonist on run from prison

FIRE-STARTER PUT MANY LIVES AT RISK AND PRETENDED TO BE A FIREFIGHTER

AN arsonist who put dozens of lives at risk – including the residents of a nursing home and a young family – when he started a series of fires in a village has been on the run from prison for six months.

Daniel Harold Milburn went missing from HMP Kirkham, near Preston in Lancashire, in January and has still not been located.

Police have launched a nationwide hunt for the 35-year-old but have been unable to track him down.

Milburn, was jailed in November 2018 for starting a series of fires in Husbands Bosworth, in August 2018.

He appeared at Leicester Crown Court in November that year and admitted three counts of arson with intent or reckless as to whether life was endangered, and was sentenced to 66 months in prison.

However, he disappeared from the open prison where he was being held less than 15 months into his sentence.

The court heard Milburn was under the influence of alcohol and ketamine when he started the fires.

He set fire to a large bin and pushed it against the kitchen door of

Brook House Care Home, in Bell Lane, which was home to 30 residents, all aged over 70. Even as that fire burned, he had the audacity to tell onlookers he was a firefighter.

The blaze was brought under control before it could spread out of control.

Later, a couple with two children, aged 18 months and five, ran to safety when their flat at Mowsley Court was overtaken by fire.

By chance, the householder had woken up to discover the fire before guiding his family to safety and alerting other occupants in the block of 14 flats. A Citroen Picasso and a Ford Fiesta in a car port below the building were also destroyed, along with a flat.

Milburn’s third offence involved a camper van in nearby Church Street, which he torched and destroyed. No one suffered significant injuries as a result of Milburn’s actions, the court was told.

Judge Martin Hurst told him: “You blamed the fact you’d had too much to drink, which can’t possibly be mitigation, a reason or an explanation for what you did.”

Of the care home residents, the judge said: “Had the fire taken hold some of them would have died because they wouldn’t have had enough time to get out.”

Lancashire police have circulated a photograph of Milburn and urged people to contact them if they know where he is.

Their appeal has been shared by the Leicestershire force, whose detectives brought Milburn to justice.

He is 5ft 9in and speaks with a Welsh accent.

As well as Leicestershire, he has links to areas including South Wales, Lancashire, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.

He has tattoos including “SUE” on his left finger and a Batman symbol on his back.

HMP Kirkham prison.

It houses inmates who are nearing the end of their sentences and are being prepared for life back in the community or those who are not thought likely to abscond.

Anyone with any information that could help police is asked to call them on their 101 number. is

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