South Yorkshire man jailed after attempting to torch his own flat while his neighbours were home

The fire service were called to the blaze defendant Dean Henley-Smith started at his ground floor flat on Old School Lane, Rotherham, at around 4pm on February 4 this year after a member of the public parked in a nearby car saw smoke emanating from the building, Sheffield Crown Court heard during a June 30 hearing.

Prosecuting barrister, Richard Davies, said the woman subsequently ‘saw a male leave the property’ and watched him ‘pace up and down’ outside the flat block, which contained two ground floor flats and two first floor flats.

“She heard the defendant say: ‘Someone’s going to get what’s coming to them’,” Mr Davies said.

He continued: “The fire service arrived and found two flats were occupied and were evacuated.”

Mr Davies described how Henley-Smith, now aged 35, admitted to setting the fire while at the scene, before going on to say he ‘wanted to be arrested,’ and that he ‘should have stayed in there’.

The blaze was confined to the living room, and when firefighters arrived, the fire had gone out but the room was engulfed in smoke and a burn mark was found on the sofa, the court heard.

Following analysis, the fire service determined that the damage caused was ‘indicative of a liquid accelerant’.

Mr Davies told the court that Henley-Smith’s flat was owned by Rotherham Council who estimated that the cost of repairing the damage caused by the blaze was £9,323.

However, Henley-Smith’s defence barrister, Timothy Savage, disputed the figure, and suggested the real cost would have been much lower because repairs to things that had needed to be fixed for some time, such as a ‘cupboard door that had been hanging off’ in the kitchen were made at the same time, and the cost was included with the work to fix the fire damage.

Mr Savage continued: “This is a case where smoke damage was caused to one room by the defendant, who accepts responsibility. It didn’t spread, it didn’t take hold...he should be sentenced on the damage actually proven to be done and not on the money the council have chosen to spend on the property subsequently.”

Henley-Smith, of Old School Lane, Rotherham, pleaded guilty to one charge of attempted arson, being reckless as to whether life was endangered, at an earlier hearing.

In mitigation, Mr Savage told the court that Henley-Smith has a history of mental health problems, epilepsy and learning difficulties.

“He has been demeaned all his life by people who think his difficulties are something to laugh at,” Mr Savage said.

Mr Savage continued by saying that prior to his offending taking place, Henley-Smith had been the victim of harassment from ‘numerous individuals including his ex-partner’ and believed his flat was going to be set on fire.

“The idea occurred to him to set fire to the flat so he would be removed from it and moved to a place where they wouldn’t find him,” Mr Savage said.

Judge Peter Kelson QC jailed Henley-Smith for 18 months and told him: “It’s a matter of sheer good fortune the fire didn’t take hold...I’m mindful this was an [arson] attempt, but looking at the justice of the case, this makes not one iota of difference in the real world.”