Cheshire Fire and Rescue service has released CCTV footage of an arson attack at The Club in Congleton as a warning to others. Culprit Michael Morgan, aged 33, of West Road, Congleton, can be seen cycling up to the front door of the building in Chapel Street. Morgan, who had equipped himself with a drinks bottle he had filled with 90p of petrol, then pours the fuel over the front door. Seconds later, Morgan uses a lighter to start the fire, causing a blinding flash which sets the door – and the arsonist's T-shirt – on fire. Morgan is then seen riding away from the scene, with his top still ablaze. The footage was first shown to Chester Crown Court in December, when Morgan was sentenced to 30 months in prison after admitting one count of arson.
Although the damage caused to the pub, a Grade II listed building, was minimal, there were tenants living in the house next door at the time, while landlord Steve Ball and his family live next door but one. Morgan had decided to torch The Club while drunk, after he was involved in a fight with another customer on the premises and was asked to leave. He returned at about 4.50am the next day, August 1, 2011, and attempted to burn the building down – in full view of a CCTV camera. Mr Ball said: "People will always remember Morgan as the clown on the bike who set himself on fire, and he will have to live with that.
YouTube link.
"I was happy for the fire service to make the video public, because it shows the foolishness of his actions. I don't think he particularly hurt himself. He was caught in the flash bang, after he started the fire which could cause serious damage, but he got out of it pretty quickly. On the night, he was causing a bit of trouble and upset a few people, so I asked him to leave and said we would revisit it in the morning. He's not a particularly pleasant person and not well liked, but you can't condemn a man forever. I don't think he had a problem with me, he just wanted to set fire to the property where the people he had disagreed with had been drinking.
"It didn't faze me. I think he got what he deserved, although I would have liked him to get a bit longer." Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service has released the video on its YouTube channel to highlight the dangers and the cost of arson. Colin Heyes, the service's arson reduction manager, said: "This clearly shows how dangerous this sort of reckless behaviour can be. The person in the footage ended up going to prison for this crime. Arson costs the taxpayers millions and more importantly it costs people their lives. I would urge anyone who sees someone involved in this sort of crime to report it."
1 comment:
This sort of thing is surprisingly common - I'm not just talking about arsonists here. People don't realise that it's the fumes that burn, not the petrol itself.
Of course it doesn't help tje that TV and movies show people splashing petrol around and then throwing a match onto the fuel. What usually seems to happen is that the surface of the pool ignites and then, after the fire raiser leaves, it suddenly explodes into a violent fire. It particularly worries me when TV shows people doing this in an enclosed space. There's only one way that's going to end and it's not the way they portray it on TV.
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