Drunk caused panic by torching Wakefield shed that almost spread to nearby flats
A drunken man attempted to exact revenge on his former partner by torching a garden shed which came close to spreading to a nearby block of flats.
One witness became so fearful that she began to grab her possessions and was ready to flee after spotting the flames.
Ian Wooffinden was jailed at Leeds Crown Court this week after admitting arson reckless as to whether life was endangered.
On June 24 last year Wooffinden had gone to Berry’s Yard, off Dovecote Lane in Horbury, with another man.
Wooffinden had previously shared a flat with his partner on the street.
Witnesses said they saw them removing items from a shed and Wooffinden was heard to say: “I’ve set it on fire.”
A woman in a nearby flat began to grab her possessions in panic as the flames took hold, prosecutor Eddison Flint told the court.
The fire service arrived but the fire had completely engulfed the shed. The intense heat caused windows to the nearby flats to break and caused the window frames to melt.
Nearby fencing was also damaged.
Wooffinden, of Woodland Village, Wakefield, has 47 previous convictions for 120 offences and had been on a suspended sentence at the time for assaulting an emergency worker and criminal damage.
Mitigating, John Batchelor said his actions “clearly merited” a custodial sentence.
He added: “He has some insight when sober to the nature of this offence and his own problems.
“He has very little recollection of the incident itself. He was told he was wanted by his probation officer.
“It was a gross act of recklessness. It was a potentially dangerous act. He was clearly under the influence of alcohol.
“He does not expect to walk out of prison today.”
Judge Simon Phillips KC jailed Wooffinden for 29 months in total.