A Middlesbrough arsonist targeted Cleveland Police station

Mark Singleton lobbed a bottle into the car park of Cleveland Police station in the early hours of the morning before wandering off to his nearby home in Middlesbrough.

The 48-year-old had stuffed a rag in a bottle of flammable liquid before lighting it and throwing it into the compound, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Jenny Haigh, prosecuting, said: “He walked past the police station carrying a bottle with a rag on fire, he then threw it over the wall and ran away.

“He was later identified by a police officer for CCTV footage.”

The court heard how the defendant was serving a suspended prison sentence at the time he targeted the police station and had 50 convictions for 90 offences on his record but none relating to arson.

Mark Singleton (Image: Cleveland Police)

Singleton, of Beaumont Road, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to attempted arson, reckless as to whether it endangered life following the attack at 3am on October 16 last year.

Michele Turner, mitigating, her client had a longstanding problem with drugs and alcohol.

Judge Jonathan Carroll jailed Singleton for a total of two years and eight months after he activated part of his suspended sentence.

He said: “You and a female were walking past the gates of the police station. I have no idea what you would be doing at that time of night.

“Within moments a glass bottle with a rag in it, which had been ignited, was thrown over the wall as the bottle broke it immediately set alight.

“I can only assume there was some sort of accelerant in the bottle.

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“In the end, you managed to miss all of the vehicles and the fire burnt itself out on the tarmac causing no significant damage. The risk of damage was profound and substantial.”

Speaking after the hearing, Detective Chief Inspector Deb Fenny from Middlesbrough CID said: “We welcome the sentence handed to Mark Singleton after he targeted a police building by throwing a petrol bomb without any regard for the serious nature of what he did.

"Thankfully, the petrol bomb he threw did not ignite and did not cause any injuries to anyone.

“Attacks of this kind won’t be tolerated and we welcome any action taken by the courts to ensure that people who think this is acceptable behaviour are subsequently imprisoned.”