TWO men will today be jailed for life for the murder of a schoolboy.

Dean Pike died when a fireball engulfed his home in Mordey Close, Sunderland in the early hours of June 24, last year.

The 11-year-old had moved to the house with his mother, Janine Dodd, six weeks before the tragedy. They were targeted in a case of mistaken identity.

Yesterday, his killers Neil English, 43, and Terry Majinusz, 40, both from Sunderland, were convicted of his murder at Newcastle Crown Court and were warned they are facing life behind bars.

A third man, 22-year-old Trevor Gordon, of Redmond Road, Sunderland, was acquitted of murder and attempted murder.

English was arrested after his DNA was discovered on a discarded tin of lighter fuel used to start the blaze, which trapped the boy inside the building and blew his mother into the street from an upstairs window.

Detective Superintendent Barbara Franklin, who led the murder investigation, described the inquiry as "immensely difficult from the outset".

She said: "We were faced with the appalling death of a child and very serious injuries to his mother in a fire which had obviously been started deliberately, but with no apparent motive."

The breakthrough came when an empty lighter fluid tin with the cap bitten off and a cigarette butt were found in the street. Forensic analysis linked all three to English, who had a previous conviction for arson.

English was arrested, along with his friend Majinusz and his girlfriend's son, Trevor Gordon. Under police questioning, it emerged that the fire had been aimed at the stepfather of Majinusz's teenage girlfriend, who lived in the Hendon area, and had tried to stop his step-daughter seeing the 40-year-old. However, they picked the wrong house.

Majinusz blamed English for the fatal fire, saying he had started it as a misguided favour, and that the pair had gone to Mordey Close where they pushed polystyrene through the letter box, doused it in lighter fuel and set it on fire.

The resulting blaze was so intense that temperatures reached 1,000C and left Dean, who had been sleeping in his bedroom, no chance of escape.

Det Supt Franklin said: "We realised we were faced with people who could coolly contemplate setting fire to someone's home or property as an act of revenge and then carry out their plans without any compunction, regardless of who was hurt or killed in the process.

"At no point during this inquiry has English shown any remorse for what he has done or expressed any sympathy for the victims.

"I would like to pay tribute to Janine and her family, who have braved this trial throughout the past few weeks and I continue to offer my sympathy to them for their loss and distress."

Det Supt Franklin also paid tribute to the emergency services who had attended on the night and added: "It is rare that anyone working in the emergency services would be required to deal with a situation as traumatic and horrific as the scene facing police officers, firefighters and paramedics in the early hours of June 24 last year."