Youth worker started £40k fire in Barnoldswick office (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Youth worker started £40k fire in Barnoldswick office

8:00pm Monday 15th October 2012 in News

A YOUTH worker who started a blaze in his own office causing £40,000 damage has been jailed for a year.

Burnley Crown Court heard how second-time arsonist Liam Wild, 22, had rented the premises, in the Rainhall Centre, Barnoldswick, intending to set up a business as an insurance broker.

The business never took off, and when Wild had been drinking, he went to his office, after removing anything of value beforehand, and set a fire behind the fridge, hoping the blaze would be attributed to a wiring fault.

Wild had not been insured, claimed he was not fascinated with fire, and mystery surrounded why he did it, the court heard.

The hearing was told the damage took months to repair, and the centre suffered losses of more than £40,000. Wild already had an offence of arson on his record, had been given a conditional discharge, and had struck again within four months of it running out.

Wild, of Gordale Road, Barnoldswick, had admitted arson, last December 6.

John Woodward, defending, said Wild was still immature and needed guidance and if he was sent to custody, he might be bullied or, more sinisterly, others might take him under their wing and expose him to greater criminal activity.

Mr Woodward added Wild did not go out drinking any more, and lived a fairly quiet life.

Sentencing, Recorder Andrew Long, who had read a psychiatric report on Wild, said he was not mentally ill. The judge told Wild: “You claim not to have a fascination for fires. You were not insured at the time, and therefore any motive for carrying out this attack remains unknown. Unless you come to terms with what you did, and why, there is a real risk you may do it again.

“It was intentional, with a degree of pre-planning, there was considerable damage, and a real risk of fire spreading to other parts of the building.”