Woman Sentenced After String Of Arson Attacks In Norwich
27 June 2014, 13:24 | Updated: 27 June 2014, 13:28
A 51-year-old woman from Norwich has been given a 21 month suspended prison sentence and a CRASBO.
Jane Durrant, of Barclay Road, Norwich, was charged with 25 counts of arson in January 2014.
She's been given a 21 month suspended prison sentence and a three year Criminal Anti Social Behaviour Order.
In the five months between August 2013 and January this year, she set fire to wheelie bins, skips, an electricity box, a shed and life buoys.
In one of the attacks, she set fire to a wheelie bin in a bin store at a house on Thunder Lane. As well as destroying the bin, it also damaged the electricity main point for the house which was housed in the bin store, leaving the owners without electricity for a month. It also caused £15,000 worth of damage.
PC Mike Larkin, who has been leading the investigation, said: "Jane Durrant’s behaviour was reckless and with no thought or regard for anyone or anything and today’s sentence reflects that and the judge made it clear that if she breaches these orders, she will go back in front of the courts and will go to prison.
"Today is the culmination of an 18 month investigation and we have worked extremely hard with the fire service and other partner agencies to gather the evidence needed to seek justice.
"Thankfully no one was seriously hurt in any of the incidents and it is important for people to realise the seriousness of these small fires, how quickly they can get out of control and the risk to life it causes.”
Stuart Horth, Head of Community Safety at Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service, said: "Arson is a crime and one that has regularly caused death, injury and damage beyond the expectation of the arsonist.
"We have been continually improving our capability to establish how deliberate fires are started and by who. This is another example of where our close working with the Police is helping to prevent this reckless crime and ensure those who commit it are identified."