AN Oswaldtwistle shopkeeper who torched his store for an insurance payout of up to almost £40,000 has been jailed for four years.

Saddaqat Ali was found guilty of arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered on August 11, 2010 and fraud between August and December 2010, after a week long trial at Burnley Crown Court.

The 40-year-old married father of four, who had claimed the blaze had nothing to do with him and denied the allegations, was sentenced yesterday, after the court waited for pre-sentenced and psychiatric reports.

Recorder Mark Ainsworth told Ali at a previous hearing: “A prison sentence was inevitable.”

Sitting at Preston Crown Court Recorder Ainsworth sentenced Ali, who had no previous convictions. During his trial the jury were told, how Ali, started the fire at the West End Convenience Store, Blackburn Road, Oswaldtwistle after removing valuable stock from the shelves.

He had been seen leaving the premises at about 10.30pm, by a neighbour who was also a regular customer.

Shortly after, the customer heard a popping sound from the shop.

Worried neighbours risked their lives trying to smash their way in with a sledge hammer, fearing people might be trapped inside.

Firefighters tackled the blaze and their investigation proved the fire had been started deliberately.

The court also heard Ali made a claim to his insurance company for damage and business interruption, saying he had been burgled. No cash was ever paid out.

Ali, of Perry Street, Darwen, who had leased the premises for a year at the time, claimed the business had been going well and he had been making a profit.

He insisted the shop had not been in trouble and claimed the first thing he knew about the blaze was the next morning, when he listened to voice messages from loss adjustors on his mobile phone.

Giving evidence, the defendant had told the court that he had left the shop at 9.30pm and had gone to the house of a woman he was having an affair with before driving home.