An arsonist who torched a van on the driveway of a north Cumbrian home has been given a suspended prison sentence.
Nathan Bell, 27, was caught on CCTV walking on to the home’s drive at Scotby, near Carlisle, wearing a hood and carrying a jerry can in darkness on January 9.
Camera footage from the victim’s own address was played at Carlisle Crown Court this morning and showed a blinding flash as the van burst into flames.
Bell fled in a nearby vehicle but later handed himself in at a city police station — consumed by guilt and with blackened hands — before admitting what he had done. In between times, a member of the public raised the alarm, resulting in the attendance of firefighters, who contacted police.
When brought to court Bell, of Reeth Road, Carlisle, admitted arson.
Bell’s motivation for the offence, said a prosecutor, appeared to have been him seeing a photograph of his ex-partner with another male.
But the court heard had selected entirely the wrong intended victim.
During his sentencing hearing, an impact statement provided by the innocent van owner was read and detailed how he lived with his family.
“Every noise puts us all on edge,” said the man. “If no-one had seen it being set alight it could have been much worse. It could even have been my house that set alight if it hadn’t been spotted.”
Vehicle repairs totalled nearly £7,000 and he had lost earnings in the sum of around £5,000 due to his van being off the road for several weeks.
“He is highly apologetic for his actions,” said Gerard Rogerson, mitigating for Bell whose crime, he stated, had been impulsive while emboldened by peers with whom he no longer associated.
“This was a very stupid, a very dangerous, a very reckless thing to do,” said Mr Rogerson of Bell, who was “jealous” after seeing the photo of his ex. “He accepts that.”
After hearing Bell was a working man with two children, Recorder Julian Shaw suspended a 16-month jail term for two years.
Bell must complete up to 30 days’ work with the probation service, complete 200 hours’ unpaid work and pay a £3,500 compensation contribution.
Recorder Shaw told Bell what he’d done beggared belief.
“That you avoided causing yourself significant, immediate and potentially life-changing injuries is an extraordinary fluke, to be honest, Mr Bell,” said the judge.
“You need to be extremely grateful to those who look down on you from above and govern these things.”
