£10,000 damage caused in deliberate fire set at Consett house

John George Middleton admitted arson with being reckless as to whether life was endangered having forced his way into the house, in the Delves Lane area of Consett, on April 5 this year.

Durham Crown Court heard that the victim was not in at the time, but the fire set by the defendant caused significant damage to the rented property.

Thirty-year-old Middleton, of Ryton Crescent, Seaham, also admitted two counts of assault by beating, one of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and two counts of criminal damage to a mobile phone, following several “domestic” incidents, in March and April, prior to the arson attack.

(Image: Durham Constabulary) Chris Baker, prosecuting, said Middleton had begun a relationship with the woman at about Christmas time last year, which began well, but by March he had become controlling and jealous.

In one incident he was ranting at her in the street and punched her into the next-door garden fence.

When she fell over the fence she dropped her phone, which Middleton stamped on, causing it damage.

In another incident he went into her upstairs bedroom, shouting abusively, before dragging her around by the hair and kicking her in the back.

She was left with bruising to her legs and forearm.

He later apologised and said it would not happen again, but his spiralling abuse culminated with events at her home on April 5, when he picked up her phone and smashed it on the floor, then grabbed her beck, applying pressure.

She left and went to a relative’s house, but when she later returned she found her home on fire, with police and fire services present.

Mr Baker said the victim told police of Middleton’s violence of the previous weeks, showing officers bruises to her arms and neck.

It emerged he had left her home that evening, but, he returned, in her absence, forcing his way in by kicking through door panels.

He then squirted an accelerant around the bottom of the stairs and ignited it, recording his actions and sending the footage to his partner.

Mr Baker said the fire was contained, but there was extensive smoke and soot damage.

The main seat of the fire was the ground floor hallway and the bottom of the stairs.

There was also heat damage to the ceiling, cracking the plaster.

Mr Baker told the court that the view of a fire officer was that it had been a deliberate arson, using a naked flame.

The estimated damage to the rented semi-detached house was put at £10,000, having “enormous” financial impact on the landlady as she was unable to re-let it for several months while repairs took place.

Mr Baker said after the fire, Middleton “bombarded” his, by then, ex-partner with 115 calls in which he admitted kicking her house door in and telling her he hoped she killed herself.

Police went to Middleton’s home address days later and he tried to barricade himself into a bedroom.

He was detained after a struggle and found to be in possession of a small, bladed implement, threatening that he would, “find her”, relating to his ex-partner.

(Image: Durham Constabulary)

In her victim statement she said they met at Christmas time through a mutual friend and at first things went well, before Middleton became controlling, installing CCTV at her home which he monitored through his phone.

He would also go through her phone to check it, questioning who she spoke to, where she was and who she was with.

She added that she had been left homeless and lost a lot of possessions, destroyed by smoke and fire.

The court heard that the defendant has 26 convictions for 73 offences, including previous motoring offences plus other acts of violence on his record.

Middleton was also before the court for dangerous driving and associated offences, committed on December 27, last year.

The court heard he was at the wheel of a Volkswagen Passat involved in a pursuit with police, having failed to stop for officers in Knitsley Lane, Consett.

Mr Baker said the Passat reached 80-mph in a 60-limit area, while at other times it travelled at below the speed limit, but almost out of control, sliding into a fence with the rear nearside of the vehicle.

At one stage all, but the driver’s door opened as if the passengers were trying to get out of the vehicle.

The Passat continued to be driven erratically on an unlit road and then tried to get back onto the A692, but missed the turning and went onto farmland, before coming to a dead end, careering off the road and ending in a darkened muddy area.

Police managed to keep tabs on the whereabout of the Passat with aerial support from a force helicopter and when he was arrested, it emerged Middleton was banned from driving at the time and appeared under the influence of “substances”.

A wipe test confirmed the defendant had excess of cocaine and its breakdown product in his system.

He admitted dangerous driving, two counts of driving while unfit through drugs, plus having no insurance and driving while disqualified, all stemming from the incident.

(Image: The Northern Echo) Referring to the subsequent arson, in April, Helen Towers, in mitigation, said, while deliberately set, it was committed at a time no-one else was present.

Although there was some damage, a lot of it was smoke logging.

She said this was by far the worst of the defendant’s offending.

Miss Towers said Middleton was someone who, “has issues with people in authority, feeling that other people are judging him.”

But she added: “He’s not someone who is prone to serious violence”, adding that he has caused no serious harm to people in the past.

Judge Nathan Adams told Middleton in his mind, the arson was, “a deliberate, targeted attack, designed to maximise the distress to your partner, and videoed by you for precisely that purpose.”

The judge told Middleton he considers him to pose, “a significant risk of the commission of further serious offences, given your escalating record”,

He, therefore, imposed an extended determinate sentence, “for the protection of the public.”

It features a six-year custodial element, of which Middleton must serve at least two-thirds before being eligible for consideration for release by the Parole Board, but he may have to serve the full six years.

Upon his release, at whatever point, Middleton will be subject of four years’ extended licence period.

Judge Adams also made him the subject of a lifetime restraining order, relating to his ex-partner, and he must also serve a ten-year driving disqualification

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Speaking after the hearing, Detective Constable Christopher Spence, of Durham Police, said: “This was a deliberate and horrific incident that could easily have ended in tragedy had the victim been in that day.

“These incidents have had a life-changing impact on the victim.

“I am pleased we have been able to get justice for her and I hope the outcome can help her close this chapter of her life.”