Arsonist jailed for 9 years after putting innocent lives at risk in Staining with petrol bomb outside home
“The actions of Peter Vernal put innocent people’s lives at risk.”
A man has been given a 14-year sentence for setting fire to a car which was parked on the driveway of a house in Staining.
Peter Vernal torched the car in a deliberate attack which was a case of mistaken identity.
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The car belonged to a man aged in his late 80s, and it is believed Vernall’s intended target was an address in the same street.
It happened on July 21 last year on Summerville Avenue, Staining.
The owner of the car has gone to bed around 10.30pm and was awoken by the bedroom suddenly being lit up.
He looked outside through the window and saw a fire by the front wheel of his Dacia Sandero which was parked on the driveway, just a metre from the front door of the house.
The emergency services were called and the fire extinguished by Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service.
An improvised Molotov cocktail was found at the scene.
Officers from Blackpool CID launched an investigation and Vernal was found to have purchased a petrol can and put three litres of petrol into the can at a garage near to the M55 junction shortly before the arson attack.
The vehicle he was in, left the garage at 10.22pm and around 10.33pm the vehicle was seen in Summerville Avenue.
Enquiries led to Vernal being arrested in Fleetwood the following day.
Vernal, 41, formerly of Capstan Close, Fleetwood, was found guilty by a jury after a trial at Preston Crown Court in January of arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered.
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Returning to the dock yesterday, Judge Ian Unsworth KC sentenced Vernal to 9 years in custody and a further five years on licence.
Detective Constable Shannon Nixon of Blackpool CID, said: “The actions of Peter Vernal put innocent people’s lives at risk.
“He set fire to a car which was parked very close to a house where two elderly people were asleep.
“Had the fire not been reported quickly and it had spread; there would have been a risk to life.
“Vernal denied his involvement and ran a trial, with the jury convicting him after listening carefully to the evidence.
“This was a shocking incident for the gentleman who had his car set on fire and while what happened cannot be undone, I hope the conviction and lengthy sentence of imprisonment shows that there is zero tolerance approach to dealing with organised crime in Lancashire.”