Arsonist left a ‘scene of devastation’ when he torched his own home
FIRE CAUSED THOUSANDS OF POUNDS WORTH OF DAMAGE
AN arsonist from Derby left his own property looking like “a scene of devastation” when flames ripped thought it.
Derby Crown Court heard how Andrew Hayward caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to his rented flat in Davenport Road when he deliberately set the sofa ablaze in the lounge.
The fire also spread to an attached house next door, meaning a workman who was carrying out renovations had to flee.
Hayward, 35, stayed at the scene while fire crews extinguished the flames. He admitted his guilt, telling the police he started the blaze because he thought someone else was in his property.
Now he has been jailed for two years.
Judge Shaun Smith QC said: “Having seen to be behaving strangely you decided to set fire to the settee in your flat.
“There was a workman in the house next door and thankfully the fire alarm was working.
“What followed was a fire which spread up the stairs and into a bedroom, causing significant damage.
“You said you thought someone was in the house and you were clearly going through mental health issues at the time.”
Sarah Allen, prosecuting, said the incident took place at around midday on September 16 at the flat in Davenport Road where Hayward had been living for a number of months.
She said a neighbour later told police they watched Hayward as he “walked around the garden stepping over obstacles which were not there”.
Miss Allen said: “They heard a fire alarm go off and called the fire service.
“The seat of the fire was in the lounge at the defendant’s property.
“The crews later described what they saw as a ‘scene of devastation,’ the fire having spread to a kitchen, up some stairs and through the ceiling upstairs.
“The semi-detached house next door was unoccupied, but there was a workman in there doing renovation who thankfully got out.”
Miss Allen said the police interviewed Hayward at the scene and he admitted he had started the blaze deliberately, claiming there was “someone in his house” so he lit a cigarette paper and set it on to a blanket and it started from there.”
Miss Allen said the owner of the property was unable to put an accurate estimate on how much the damage had cost him.
Hayward pleaded guilty to one count of arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered.
Dan Church, mitigating, said his client had been assessed for mental illness and had been diagnosed with a mixed personality disorder.
But the court was told that the psychiatrist’s report also concluded that Hayward “candidly admitted getting pleasure from setting the fire”.
Mr Church said: “It was a spontaneous act and not one with any significant planning or with any accelerants used.
“Happily the workman did not need to be rescued by the fire service and Mr Hayward immediately admitted responsibility for setting the fire.”