Arsonist caused £50k of damage
MAN JAILED FOR SETTING FIRE TO HOUSE AFTER ROW WITH WOMAN
A CRAZED arsonist caused £50,000 of damage when he went berserk during an argument and torched a house.
Daniel Harter, 36, was at a property in Beech Hill, Wigan, when he began rowing with a woman over an historic incident, police said.
The woman tried to leave the house, but Harter wouldn’t let her.
The row escalated and Harter threw chilli sauce, ketchup and eggs around the kitchen as he lost control.
He then went into an attic and came back with a can of petrol.
As he struggled with the woman, he unscrewed the top of the can and splashed petrol in several rooms, threatening to burn the house down if the woman left, GMP said. He then snapped and tried to ignite the petrol with a cigarette lighter, but without success.
He tried again with a second lighter and the house then erupted into flames.
Harter then ran to the kitchen to get a pan of water to douse the fire, but his efforts were pointless as the blaze was so fierce.
He then walked away from the inferno, which caused extensive damage to the property.
Harter, of no fixed address, was jailed for three years and eight months at Bolton Crown Court.
He previously pleaded guilty to reckless arson where life would be endangered.
The incident happened on Sunday, July 10, this year.
After the hearing, Detective Constable Alastair MacMillan, of GMP’s Wigan borough, said: “Daniel Harter is clearly a dangerous man who put the lives of not just himself and this woman at risk by setting this fire, but also the lives of other people living on the same street.
“Whilst he may not have given much thought about the damage he would cause due to being blinded by rage, his reckless actions that night left a family without a home.
“Threatening to set a house on fire is no joke and, quite frankly, it is unbelievable that anybody would intentionally douse a house in petrol to prevent a person from leaving during an argument.
“The only thing that will achieve is a prison sentence, which is exactly what Harter got – putting him where he deserves to be.”