Addict torched PCSO’s car for £50 of heroin
A DRUG-ADDICT arsonist was hired to torch the car of a PCSO who was the target of a hate campaign.
Glynn Edwards, 49, struck right outside Stalybridge Police Station.
He was given a £50 bag of heroin to set fire to the Audi after the unnamed officer parked it up.
But he has refused to say who hired him to do it.
At around 9.20pm on Monday, February 3, two GMP officers were leaving the station when they heard glass smashing and saw a fire underneath a personal vehicle belonging to a colleague.
They then saw Edwards throw a petrol bomb at the car. One of the officers gave chase and caught him nearby.
Edwards, of Stephens Road, Stalybridge, later claimed someone had paid him to do it with heroin for his drug habit. He pleaded guilty to arson with intent to endanger life and was sentenced via video link at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court to three years and four months in jail.
It emerged in court that the PCSO and his partner had been the victims of a string of mysterious vandal attacks at their home spanning almost a year. The identity of the culprit is not known.
In a victim personal statement, the PCSO whose car was gutted in the blaze, said: “I am nervous as a result of the incident. I avoid driving, even down my own street. I am nervous of people seeing me in my new car and being able to identify the car.”
Edwards appeared in court via video link from prison while lawyers gave legal submissions over the phone due to the Covid-19 lockdown.
Prosecutor Brian Berlyne said: “The complaint is a PCSO along with his partner who is another PCSO. There were a number of serious incidents between January and December last year when his property was damaged and he didn’t know who those persons were or who was responsible. It isn’t known if Mr Edwards played a part.”
Edwards has 131 previous offences. Defence barrister Howard Bernstein said: “This is his first offence in nine years it was due to his drug use. He responded well to rehabilitation in 2010 he is now willing to re-engage with the drug services.”
Sentencing, Judge Mark Savill told Edwards: “There is a real risk those people could have been injured in the fire. It was an extremely reckless act and one that you did quite deliberately for your own ends, nothing justifies this type of behaviour to try and pay off any kind of debt. There was significant value damage. I note there is a degree of remorse and you were involved through coercion.”