Three jailed for arson

THREE men involved in two separate arson attacks at Warrington have been jailed for a total of more than 13 years – and fire chiefs are hoping the sentences will act as a deterrent and show people have serious offences of arson are.
The two incidents were both in August last year and involved flats in Warrington.
Sean Henshaw, service delivery manager for Cheshire Fire Service in Warrington said: “Arson is an extremely serious and dangerous crime which is reflected in the sentences given to the irresponsible people involved in these two cases.
“I believe these incidents can only assist us in our ongoing campaign to
highlight the devastating consequences of deliberately setting fires, not only to the potential victims, but also the people who commit the crimes.
“Any fire puts the lives of the public and firefighters at risk but it also takes up a lot of valuable time and resources. We will continue to work closely with the police and other partner agencies to reduce deliberate fires and educate people about the dangers.”
A 21-year-old man was jailed for three years at Warrington Crown court for arson with intent to endanger life.
He pleaded guilty to starting a fire at a flat in Calgarth Avenue, Warrington.
The second offence involved a fire at a flat in Folly Lane and involved two men.
One, aged 42, was jailed for five years and the other, aged 31, was jailed for five years and four months, both at Chester Crown Court
Detective Constable Nick Talbot from Warrington CID said: “I hope these sentences show the public that arson is taken seriously and we need them to continue to work with us and report suspicious behaviour to ensure the people who commit these reckless crimes are brought to justice.
“Both these cases fortunately did not result in anyone being injured but the outcome could have been much worse. I would therefore urge anyone with information about this sort of behaviour to report it by calling police on 101, or alternatively Crimestoppers, anonymously, on
0800 555 111.”