Two young men are facing lengthy prison sentences after they were involved in an attempted arson attack on a Carlisle house.
A woman was inside the property on residential South Street, off London Road/Botchergate, when the crime occurred on the evening of May 28 this year.
At Carlisle Crown Court this afternoon, 22-year-old Harry Robinson admitted a charge of attempting to commit arson with intent to endanger a woman’s life. Robinson had previously denied the charge and was due to have stood trial in front of a jury.
In the dock alongside him was Liam Gearing, 19, who had admitted that offence during a previous court appearance.
Gearing also admits making off without payment for fuel from a Carlisle filling station on the same date, and also a number of motoring crimes.
Judge Nicholas Barker adjourned their case and asked for pre-sentence reports to be prepared by the probation service. These will address the cause of the offending and also what was happening in the defendants’ respective lives at the time.
Judge Barker suggested the men were facing a “long time” in prison for their criminal conduct but insisted on having all available information in front of him before the punishments are handed down.
Robinson, of Swann Lane, and Gearing, of Warwick Square, both Carlisle, are due to be sentenced at the crown court on 18th December. In the meantime both have been remanded in custody.
“You know it is going to be custody — that much you know,” Judge Barker said to the pair about their likely sentences. “I need to know how long (to pass).”
Judge Barker also requested a victim impact statement be taken from the woman involved, who is said to have suffered slight injury during the incident.
