Married life made newlywed man go on arson spree

A newlywed blamed the stress of married life for an arson spree that saw him light fires across the city just four weeks after tying the knot. Graham Michael Dearing, 56, set fire to wheelie bins outside three properties as a "cry for help". He claimed he was struggling to cope with his marriage after being a bachelor for so long. Dearing set fire to bins outside BHS and the Ye Olde White Harte pub in the city centre.

Residents had to be evacuated after he set fire to a bin underneath the window of a flat in the Land Of Green Ginger. All three fires were started during the early hours of August 23. Dearing, of Ings Road, east Hull, handed himself in to the police at 6pm the next day – even though the force had not received any complaints. He was charged with three counts of arson and later pleaded guilty to all three at Hull Crown Court. His solicitor Ian Phillip said: "This can be seen as a cry for help.



"He went to the police station and gave an explanation even though they had received no reports. He is responsible for his own successful prosecution. At times of great stress and difficulty he behaves inappropriately. He married four weeks before this offence and that was a culture shock to him having been single at his age for so long. He bottled things up over this four-week period, he didn't know who to turn to. He had trouble adjusting to married life after such a long time and it made him behave in this stupid way."

Dearing was given a six- month prison sentence suspended for two years and two years supervision. Dearing had been in custody for three-and-a-half months before the hearing. He was previously jailed for 18 months for an arson attack on a flat at Nelson Court in William Street, west Hull. He was also jailed for two years for an arson attack in 1980.