Drunken woman torched Leeds neighbour's new Skoda in revenge attack

Charlotte Guilliatt poured accelerant through the smashed window of the Skoda before lighting it. The £11,500 car was written off as a result. The 32-year-old appeared at Leeds Crown Court this week where she admitted arson and assault stemming from the violent incident in the early hours of December 2 last year.

Prosecutor Harry Crowson said Guilliatt’s nephew had been staying at the victim’s home in the Richmond Hill area of Leeds that night, but following a drunken argument, Guilliatt and her twin had returned home.

Guilliatt then went to the neighbour’s home at around 4.40am and was banging on their door. The twins and a man were able to get into the house and grabbed a male occupant by the neck. Eventually, the three were ejected from the house and the door was locked, but they then threatened to set fire to the woman’s car.

The window of the vehicle was put through with a wooden pallet, and Guillatt came out with a wine bottle full of accelerant and poured it into the car. The emergency services arrived but the car was beyond saving, Mr Crowson said.

Guilliatt was later arrested from her own home on Neville Street in Leeds. During her interview, she admitted being at the address and that a window got smashed, but denied any wrongdoing. She then gave no-comment answers.

Mitigating, Lily Wildman said that Guilliatt “whole-heartedly accepted” her actions from that day and was aware of the “devastating consequences” they could have had. She added: “She has not made any attempt to evade or disregard her involvement.”

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She said the mother-of-one had taken steps to address her drinking by referring herself to the counselling service, Forward Leeds.

Judge Penelope Belcher told Guilliatt: “It was a revenge attack for being thrown out of the house. The proper way to deal with it would have been to call the police. It was fuelled by alcohol and according to the pre-sentence report, by drugs.

“It’s pure luck that this was something more serious. It’s clear from the pre-sentence report that binge drinking is an issue.”

However, she accepted that Guilliatt had been remorseful “from the outset”. She gave her a 22-month jail sentence, suspended for 24 months, 100 hours of unpaid work, 25 rehabilitation days and a nine-month alcohol treatment requirement.