William Angus, 28, of no fixed address, admitted a charge of simple arson in December after setting fire to the top-floor maisonette on Craylands, in Basildon, on Friday, June 28 2013.
50 people were evacuated from their home and the blaze caused around £140,000 worth of damage to the property.Not that he’ll have to pay it…
He said he had 'flicked' a lighter at the sofa, which had started the blaze, after an argument with his girlfriend Abby Hockwood, who was then 38-weeks pregnant.
Angus was given a 20-month sentence, suspended for 18 months. He will be monitored via an electronic curfew between 8pm and 6am for the next four months and will have to carry out 150 hours unpaid work.
He will also be signed up to a thinking skills programme.*sighs*
Ian Clift, defending, said Angus hadn’t thought about the consequences of his actions and was ‘extremely shocked and remorseful’ on finding out the amount of damage caused.
He added Angus, who has two children, was ‘a very mature and polite man’ who had promised to grow up.Why would ‘a mature man’ need to ‘grow up’?
Oh. Right:
Angus has previous convictions stretching back to 1999 including criminal damage, actual bodily harm, driving with excess alcohol, driving uninsured and breaching community orders.Clearly prime breeding stock. Well, incredibly enough, Miss Hockwood still seems to think so!
Since the blaze Angus and Miss Hockwood have reconciled although, unlike his parents and step-father, she was not present at court.There’s no hope for the child, is there?
6 comments:
Minimum of 25 years hard labor, or more, until the damages are paid off with interest.
Maybe, just maybe, if the courts started giving out sentences like that these idiots might start to think about their actions.
The judges also need to be signed up to thinking skills programs because it is obvious they are not thinking at the moment.
I thought arson was one of the crimes that guaranteed prison because of the risk to life?
Clearly nobody goes down for anything these days.
Apart from calling someone a cunt on Twitter.
"Ian Clift, defending, said Angus ......was ‘a very mature and polite man’ "
Given Angus's criminal record, surely Ian Clift should be charged with perjury? [Or are barristers / lawyers or whatever exempt?]
That's a very strange definition of the word "mature".
Yeah, I agree with others here - it should have carried a mandatory prison sentence. Besides, thinking skills courses are only going to work with those capable of thought in the first instance.
"Minimum of 25 years hard labor, or more, until the damages are paid off with interest."
Amen!
"Given Angus's criminal record, surely Ian Clift should be charged with perjury?"
Just once, I'd like to see a judge make an issue of this. Just once...
"Besides, thinking skills courses are only going to work with those capable of thought in the first instance."
Perhaps Angus has thought? He's thought about how he can get away with anything under our justice system. And he's right!
Surely Abby is the one who needs "thinking skills" if she thinks breeding with this clown is sane. How can he ever support the child?
Oh, wait....
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