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06
Oct
Arsonist jailed after 'revenge' attack destroyed house in Boroughbridge
A woman has been jailed for a “revenge” arson attack on her ex-boyfriend’s home which destroyed the entire property and those of his elderly neighbours, one of whom was asleep at the time.
Stacey Hinks, 34, was incandescent with fury at the beleaguered victim and, in a drink-and-drug-fuelled rage, went to his home in Boroughbridge and torched it, York Crown Court heard.
Prosecutor Brian Russell said that a jerry can found abandoned in the hallway appeared to suggest that Hinks had used some kind of accelerant to start the blaze late at about 11pm on May 15, but there was no proof of that in any fire report.
The fire gutted the entire property in Springfield Grove and spread to the roofs of neighbouring bungalows, causing more than £200,000 of damage.
Mr Russell said that in the hours leading up to the massive blaze, Hinks had been calling her ex-boyfriend who was named in court.
“She was making threats to him, harassing him and threatening to burn his house down,” added Mr Russell.
He told the court:
He didn’t take that seriously but was concerned enough to ask his friend, who was staying at his house, to leave.
After his friend had left the property, the victim received calls from friends and family telling him that his house had gone up in flames.
CCTV and Ring Doorbell footage showed a person matching Hinks’s description who had entered the terraced bungalow via a broken window before the flames erupted.
Mr Russell said the bungalow was “completely destroyed by fire”.
“It appears that the fire went across the roof and the roof collapsed onto two bungalows either side, and the fire spread to these two premises,” he added.
Inside one of the neighbouring bungalows was a woman in her 90s who was alerted to the fire by a resident. She was evacuated and the two other residents were not at home at the time.
Her's and the other neighbouring property were so badly damaged that the elderly residents had to be rehoused.
Fire crews from Ripon, Knaresborough, Harrogate, Acomb and Thirsk were called to the blaze which was finally brought under control.
Hinks, currently of no fixed address but is from Boroughbridge, was charged with arson and being reckless as to whether life would be endangered.
She admitted the offence, on the basis that she had gone to her ex-boyfriend’s house, sat down on his sofa and became “frustrated” at not being able to get in touch with him.
She claimed she then set fire to a cushion – a claim the prosecution rubbished due to the huge damage caused by the inferno.
Hinks appeared for sentence today (October 6) after being remanded in New Hall Prison.
In a statement read out by the prosecution, her ex-boyfriend said he had been so profoundly affected by Hinks’s callous actions that “I feel like it’s a task getting up each day”.
“I don’t feel like there’s an end to this,” he added.
The court heard:
I’ve had to stay in hotels and temporary accommodation. I have been moving almost weekly. I lost everything; a lot of it can’t be replaced.
There were a lot of sentimental items. My memorabilia from work has gone. I literally have the clothes on my back; everything else is destroyed.
I can’t afford to buy new clothes; I can’t sleep at night. My doctor thinks I’m suffering from PTSD. I don’t eat; I’ve lost weight. I’ve struggled every day.
Emergency services at the scene on Springfield Grove in Boroughbridge. Photo: Michael Lambert.
'I had to watch my security camera as fire destroyed my bungalow'
One elderly female neighbour, who was also named in court, said she had “lost everything” in the blaze including mementos to her late husband and other family members. Even her beloved garden had gone up in flames, destroying plants and other items given to her by her son and husband.
She said that what items had been left unscarred she had no access to, because her bungalow was still “not safe to enter” due to all the structural damage.
She added:
I had to watch on my security camera as fire took hold and destroyed my bungalow that I lived in and called home since 2009. I was heartbroken.
The woman was not at home at the time of the blaze as she was staying with her brother for a few days. However, her neighbours didn’t know this and tried to get her out of the burning property, not realising she wasn’t there.
She said she had struggled to sleep and settle at her temporary new home while her bungalow was made habitable again at considerable cost.
Her female neighbour, who is in her 90s, said she had been “mentally and physically fit” before the arson and had lived independently, but the attack had turned her into an old woman.
“Now I’m old (because) this has really knocked me back,” she added.
She had since become frail and had been hospitalised due to a fall and had been given sleeping tablets and therapy.
“My memory has been affected,” she added.
All I remember is the dreadful night of the fire.
Due to the extent of the damage to her bungalow, she had had to move in with her son and daughter in another town and there was no guarantee she would be able to return to her home in Boroughbridge where she had lived with her late husband for 27 years.
“We had some wonderful years there until he passed away,” she said, adding: "I had a very active social life and I loved my little bungalow".
She said that the perpetrator “gave absolutely no thought to anybody who was in the other bungalows and could have killed us”.
She said that that at the time of the blaze, a neighbour was shouting through her window: “Get out! There’s a fire.”
“I’ve never felt fear like that and I hope I never will again,” she added.
She had lost many of her personal and sentimental items, including a rosebush given to her by her late husband for their 40th wedding anniversary.
She said that Hinks would “never understand the harm (she) has done to me, mentally, physically, financially and emotionally”.
“I can’t sleep and I will think about the fire for the rest of my life,” she added.
It was estimated that the fire had caused between £180,000 and £200,000 damage to the bungalows and it had cost the local authority £11,000 to house the victims in temporary accommodation.
The prosecution outlined Hinks’s unenviable criminal record which comprised 34 previous offences including assaulting emergency workers, racially aggravated public disorder, damaging property, drug-driving and breaching court orders.
'You sought out revenge'
Defence barrister Jessica Heggie said that Hinks, who is a mother, had an alcohol and drug problem and her criminal record had all the hallmarks of a chronic drinker.
She had a traumatic childhood and her life went “off the rails” several years ago due to family problems.
She said that Hinks had “issues regarding abandonment” and felt “shame and remorse” for her actions.
“She acknowledges that she completely failed to consider the safety of any of the people who could so easily have been seriously hurt by her actions,” added Ms Heggie.
She said that, according to Hinks, she was still in a relationship with the victim at the time of the blaze and she had acted out of “feelings of rejection” after they had an argument.
Judge Sean Morris, the Recorder of York, told Hinks she should “hang your head in shame” for her heinous actions on the night of the fire.
He added:
On May 15, yet again you were in drink and probably under the influence of drugs.
Having had a row with your boyfriend, you sought out revenge. You threatened to burn his house down and you went and did it, and there were people, certainly in one of the houses, next-door, at night.
These were old people’s bungalows mainly, and you destroyed the lives of three people, and you are fortunate indeed that nobody died as a consequence of your actions.
As it is, you have devasted the lives of elderly people; cherished memories have gone up in smoke. They have had to be moved in order to have their houses virtually rebuilt.
They have suffered financial and emotional trauma. They’ve had to rely on others when they had been independent and proud people, capable of looking after themselves. You have done all that to good people and you should hang your head in shame.
Hinks was jailed for four years and 10 months.
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